Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

Horticulture sector is a major segment under the growing agriculture sector. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the World. Uttarakhand produces 57,753.49 metric tonnes of apples per year from both the regions of the State. Majority of apple growers are categorized under medium to low socio- economic status because of the constraints faced by them. Past researches showed that Apple growers were facing major problem of marketing inefficiency. The extension worker and farmers ratio are also less and there is a huge information gap. As a result, there is a need to assess the constraints faced by apple growers in Uttarakhand. The present study was conducted in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Four villages were selected randomly from one block as it had a maximum number of apple growers. A total sample of 120 respondents (30 from each village) was selected by PPS sampling method. The data collection was done by using a pre-tested structured interview schedule. Besides knowledge test was also developed for determining the knowledge of apple farmers in the study area. The findings of the present study indicated that majority of the respondents (72.5%) belonged to middle age group, had education upto intermediate level (32.5%), had medium family size (92.5%), were in medium annual income (67%), had medium size of apple orchard (65%), had ten to thirteen year of experience in apple farming (44.16%), had medium information seeking behaviour (59.16%), had medium risk orientation (69.17%), owned mobile with internet (100%), have medium mass media exposure (65.84%). Climate change, lack of reasonably priced and efficient transport, poor transportation infrastructure, high cost of packaging material, knowledge deficit about grading facilities and low-quality extension services were identified as significant constraints.