Estimation of soil carbon pools under major cropping systems of Mayiladuthurai district of Cauvery Delta Zone, Tamil Nadu, India

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a potential indicator of soil quality and ecosystem sustainability. The present study aimed to evaluate SOC pools under major cropping systems of Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. The composite samples were collected from two depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) by stratified random sampling and were analysed for pH, EC (Electrical conductivity), C fractions, inorganic carbon and permanganate oxidisable carbon by standard procedures. The SOC content under different land use was in the order of Forestry > Rice – pulses > Rice – cotton > Sugarcane > Uncultivated. The mean SOC content of the study area was 12.58 Mg ha-1, where the majority of the area falls under low to medium rating of SOC. Hence, cultivation practices should incorporate activities that increase SOC to maintain soil quality. SOC was positively correlated with fractions of carbon – CVL (r = 0.37**), CL (r = 0.65**) and CLL (r = 0.58**), indicating changes in land use would affect the carbon dynamics of the ecosystem. The root biomass, aeration status, microbial activity, nutrient reserves and inherent soil characteristics influenced SOC to decrease with depth. The PCA analysis revealed that the variation in carbon dynamics of the study area was influenced by SOC, CLC, CLL and non-labile carbon due to differences in land management practices. Therefore, such soil management practices will be a powerful tool to sequester carbon, which supplements climate change mitigation

Dynamics of Area Change under Commercial Crops in Tamil Nadu

The area under commercial crops has been fluctuating over the years in Tamil Nadu. However, the change in area is not same for all the crops. Hence the present study was conducted to assess the growth rates and the dynamics of area change of cash crops in Tamil Nadu by using the secondary data for the period of five decades from 1971 to 2020. Among cash crops oilseeds had highest area under production followed by coconut, sugarcane and vegetables. All commercial crops, with the exception of sugarcane, tea, coffee, and vegetables, have a negative growth rate. The transitional probability matrix for area under cash crops was obtained using Markov chain analysis. By simulating this transitional probability matrix, the area under major cash crops in Tamil Nadu for the next decade has been projected. Sugarcane is the only crop with a positive trend for the projected area, while cotton, spices, coffee, and vegetable group exhibit a declining over the period

Problems Encountered by Coconut Growers by Adopting TNAU Coconut Tonic and their Perceived Benefits

Aim: The study aims to analyse the problems encountered by Coconut growers by adopting the TNAU Coconut tonic and their perceived benefits. Study Design: Ex post facto research design. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Coimbatore district which represents a major coconut-growing tract of the Western zone of Tamil Nadu. Methodology: From the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, 120 Coconut growers from three different blocks namely Pollachi (North), Pollachi (South) and Anaimalai block were purposively selected for conducting the study. Data were collected from coconut growers who are all adopting TNAU Coconut tonic. The well-structured pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect data from farmers. Garrett ranking and weighted average method were computed to analyse the constraints and perceived benefits of coconut growers who are all adopting the TNAU Coconut tonic as their nutrient management practices. Results: The major constraints were reported by the growers viz., availability of tonic at TNAU (8.75%), Unskilled labour (8.57%), difficulty to identify the root (8.04%), the absorption rate of tonic is low (7.92%), non-availability of labour (7.31%), high cost of labour (7.13%), High cost of crop boosters (6.81%), poor knowledge on the availability of tonic at TNAU Agri cart, Coconut Research Station, Aliyar & Courier services (6.45%) as major constraints. The obtained key benefits include increased chlorophyll content and greenness of leaves (16.93), improved photosynthetic efficiency of leaves (11.73), decreases button shedding (30.53), increased number and size of nut (22.27), increased nut yield up to 20 per cent (18.20), increased longevity and vigour of the palm (19.40) and resistance to pests, diseases and environmental stresses (24.20) shows that maximum number of coconut growers benefited by adopting TNAU Coconut tonic. Conclusion: To overcome these constraints, concerted efforts from researchers with government and institutional support set forth the easy adoption of TNAU Coconut tonic. The adoption of TNAU Coconut tonic technology brings forth a multitude of perceived benefits to the coconut growers, along with their conventional, recommended nutrient management practices and the livelihood of coconut growers will be improved

Adopter Categorization and Level of Adoption among Protected Cut Flower Growers

In India, Tamil Nadu occupies the first position in terms of area under flower cultivation then followed by Karnataka and West Bengal. Out of the 33 districts in Tamil Nadu, Krishnagiri district ranks first in cut flower production due to its suitability to climatic conditions. The cut flowers are by and large cultivated under protected conditions (poly greenhouse structure) to meet the quality standards as expected in the global trade arena. The present study was conducted to identify the adopter categories and their level of adoption with respect to protected cut flower cultivation technologies. An ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The first two intensive blocks (Thally & Hosur) cultivating cut flowers under protected methods were purposefully selected for the present study. From both blocks, six villages were selected, and the data were collected from 120 respondents among these twelve selected villages using a well-structured interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, cumulative frequency, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results of the adopter categorization showed that 40.83 percent of respondents belonged to the early majority and only 5.00 percent were innovators. The results regarding the overall adoption of protected cultivation by each adopter category reported that 54.17 percent of respondents had medium-level adoption, in that 44.61 percent and 30.77 percent were early majority and late majority, respectively. The majority of respondents have a medium-level adoption of protected cultivation, leaving potential for growth among early majority and late majority adopters. Targeted strategies and incentives should address their specific needs, and encouraging more innovators to adopt can drive widespread adoption

Adoption Behavior among Farmers of Tamil Nadu towards District Agro-meteorology Unit (DAMU) Agro Advisory Services in Agriculture and Allied Sectors

An ex post facto research was undertaken during 2022 to assess farmers' adoption of District Agro-Meteorology Unit (DAMU) Agro Advisory Services (AAS) in Cuddalore, Ramnad, and Aruppukottai districts of Tamil Nadu with sample size of 180. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire. DAMU offers specialized weather information to support local agricultural activities. The study revealed that 70 per cent of farmers fall into the "Medium" adoption category adopting weather-based timing for planting, harvesting, and irrigation. The respondents fully adopt the practice of scheduling sowing time using weather-based farm advisories (77.78%), 62.22 per cent adopt the practice of scheduling harvesting operations, illustrating a substantial majority using this approach to enhance efficiency and yield during crop harvesting and 56.67 per cent fully adopt the practice of scheduling supplementary irrigation. The farmers attributes viz., education status, annual income, extension agency contact, extension participation, mass media participation, information seeking behaviour, knowledge level and perception had shown a positive and significant correlation with the dependent variable adoption of DAMU services at one per cent level of significance. The study revealed that traits like media engagement, scientific thinking and information seeking are closely tied to DAMU AAS adoption, along with extension involvement, knowledge, and perception, contributing to a notable 68.30% variance in adoption