Record Details

Farmers' Perceptions of the Effects of Plant Diseases on the Yield and Nutritive Value of Crop Residues used for Peri-Urban Dairy Production on the Deccan Plateau: Findings from Participatory Rural Appraisals

OAR@ICRISAT

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/1087/
 
Title Farmers' Perceptions of the Effects of Plant Diseases on the Yield and Nutritive Value of Crop Residues used for Peri-Urban Dairy Production on the Deccan Plateau: Findings from Participatory Rural Appraisals
 
Creator Devi, K R
Bandyopadhyay, R
Hall, A J
Indira, S
Pande, S
Jaiswal, P
 
Subject Others
 
Description Plant diseases influence the quantity and quality of groundnut and sorghum crop residues used as fodder for
ruminants. The present socio-economic study assessed farmers' perceptions, their awareness, and the relative
importance and impact of plant diseases in farmers' livelihood systems. Case studies were carried out in four
villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan Plateau with the help of participatory rural appraisal
(PRA) techniques. The results from PRAs suggest that sorghum and groundnut crop residues constitute a
major source of fodder, and predominantly provide 'feed security' to the ruminants during summer, as few
alternatives are available to farmers in dryland areas. The problem of foliar diseases cannot be viewed in
isolation, as farmers' concerns are more on the cumulative effects of pests and diseases. Farmers believe that
diseases reduce the quality of crop residues that leads to feed refusal by, and poor health of ruminants. The
effects on the quality of crop residues are more seriously perceived in groundnut as farmers report 50% losses
in foliage and fodder yield. In sorghum, the perceived losses are 10-30%, but low price offered by traders for
disease-affected fodder reduce earnings of the poor from fodder sale. Commercial markets exist for fodder
transactions of sorghum stover while no such markets are reported for groundnut crop residues. The poor are
the link to the sorghum fodder market. Therefore, validation of fodder-related technologies through the poor
is necessary to increase cash incomes from fodder sale. Genetic improvement of feed-quality of crop residues
without compromising on essential yield traits is critical for farmers' acceptance of new sorghum and
groundnut varieties. Research on inexpensive and easy-to-use pest and disease management options is
necessary to improve the quantity and quality of crop residues of sorghum and groundnut.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 2000
 
Type Monograph
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/1087/1/RA_000358.pdf
Devi, K R and Bandyopadhyay, R and Hall, A J and Indira, S and Pande, S and Jaiswal, P (2000) Farmers' Perceptions of the Effects of Plant Diseases on the Yield and Nutritive Value of Crop Residues used for Peri-Urban Dairy Production on the Deccan Plateau: Findings from Participatory Rural Appraisals. Monograph. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.