Knowledge of improved castor production technology among tribal and non -tribal farmers of Sirohi district of Rajasthan

Castor is an important oilseed cash crop. India is the largest castor growing country in the world. Castor oil obtained from castor seed is non-edible, but is of great industrial importance Castor producer in India. In Rajasthan, Sirohi district have first rank in terms of area and production of castor. Therefore, a study was undertaken to assess the level of knowledge of castor production technology among tribal and non-tribal farmers of Sirohi district. The present study was conducted in Abu Road (tribal) and Reoder (non-tribal) panchayat samities. Two villages selected from each panchayat samiti and 75 tribal and 75 non-tribal respondents were selected through proportionate random sampling procedure. That way the total size of sample is 150. The study was revealed that 78 tribal and non-tribal respondents were of medium level of knowledge. Non-tribal respondents had been two times higher level of knowledge as compared to tribal respondents. It was inferred that out of total ten major aspects of castor production technology, both the groups of respondents had maximum knowledge about the practices of irrigation management whereas the lowest knowledge was about the plant protection measures. The calculated “Z” values of all the major aspects of castor production technologies were found to be statistically significant, which showed that there existed difference in the knowledge level of respondents