Constraints Faced by Rice Growers in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu in Cultivation of TNAU Modern Rice Varieties

The present study was carried out to analyse the constraints faced by rice growers in Cauvery Delta Zone (CDZ) of Tamil Nadu in use of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) modern rice varieties and to elicit suggestions for improving the adoption of TNAU modern rice varieties. Ex-Post Facto Research Design was followed in this study since it aimed to know the constraints faced by the rice growers. The study was conducted during May and June 2022. The selected districts for the study were Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai based on maximum area under rice cultivation. From each of the four districts, two blocks were selected and from the selected blocks, two villages from each block were selected for the study based on maximum area under rice cultivation. Based on proportionate random sampling technique, 160 respondents were selected for the study. The responses of the respondents were subjected to frequency and percentage analysis. More than three fourth of the respondents expressed lodging (83.10%) followed by disease infestation (81.90%) and pest infestation (80.60%) as the major constraints. Lack of awareness and knowledge in adopting TNAU modern rice varieties was expressed by around one-third (36.30%) of the respondents. Availability of non-lodging varieties (91.90%), flood tolerant varieties (91.30%), availability of disease-resistant varieties (90.00%), pest-resistant varieties (89.40%) and increasing promotional efforts (85.00%) were the major suggestions given by the rice growers for increasing the use TNAU modern rice varieties.