Title: KNOWLEDGE TEST ON PEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF VEGETABLE GROWERS

Authors: Karukumalli Sindhura, Rajinder Peshin and Rakesh Sharma

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: knowledge test, pest management, vegetables, vegetable growers

Volume: 39

Issue: 2

Year: June 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2025.39.2.0001

Abstract: Although vegetables are an essential part of a balanced diet, conventional growing methods subject them to a comparatively high level of pesticide consumption. In order to reduce the negative impacts of pesticide use in agriculture, various pest management techniques are combined in a way that works well together to keep pest populations below the point at which economic harm is caused. This study was carried out since there was no exam to gauge the expertise of vegetable growers in Jammu region and Andhra Pradesh state on pest management techniques. The primary goal of this study is to ascertain how much information vegetable growers have about pest management strategies for tomatoes, okra, and brinjal. A total of 86 and 90 items were prepared in accordance with SKUAST-JAMMU and Dr. YSRHU suggested pest management techniques respectively. Pre-testing of knowledge test was done on 64 vegetable farmers who are farming brinjal, okra and tomato in Jammu region and Andhra Pradesh state, afterwards difficulty index and discrimination index were worked out and the items having the values ranging from 30 to 80 and 0.25 to 0.80 were picked accordingly. A total of 77, 81 items were ultimately chosen from a pool of 86, 90 items for Jammu region and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The reliability for the whole test was calculated by using Cronbach alpha whose values are 0.87,0.87 and 0.89 for Jammu region 0.87, 0.88 and 0.85 for Andhra Pradesh state in brinjal, okra and tomato respectively.