Adopter Categorization and Level of Adoption among Protected Cut Flower Growers

S. Mercy Sheeba *

Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology (CARDS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India.

G. Anand

ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Salem-636 203, India.

C. Karthikeyan

Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology (CARDS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India.

M. Nirmala Devi

Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology (CARDS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India.

R. Gangai Selvi

Department of Physical Science and Information Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

In India, Tamil Nadu occupies the first position in terms of area under flower cultivation then followed by Karnataka and West Bengal. Out of the 33 districts in Tamil Nadu, Krishnagiri district ranks first in cut flower production due to its suitability to climatic conditions. The cut flowers are by and large cultivated under protected conditions (poly greenhouse structure) to meet the quality standards as expected in the global trade arena. The present study was conducted to identify the adopter categories and their level of adoption with respect to protected cut flower cultivation technologies. An ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The first two intensive blocks (Thally & Hosur) cultivating cut flowers under protected methods were purposefully selected for the present study. From both blocks, six villages were selected, and the data were collected from 120 respondents among these twelve selected villages using a well-structured interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, cumulative frequency, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results of the adopter categorization showed that 40.83 percent of respondents belonged to the early majority and only 5.00 percent were innovators. The results regarding the overall adoption of protected cultivation by each adopter category reported that 54.17 percent of respondents had medium-level adoption, in that 44.61 percent and 30.77 percent were early majority and late majority, respectively. The majority of respondents have a medium-level adoption of protected cultivation, leaving potential for growth among early majority and late majority adopters. Targeted strategies and incentives should address their specific needs, and encouraging more innovators to adopt can drive widespread adoption.

Keywords: Adopter categories, adoption level, cut flowers, protected cultivation technology


How to Cite

Sheeba , S. Mercy, G. Anand, C. Karthikeyan, M. Nirmala Devi, and R. Gangai Selvi. 2023. “Adopter Categorization and Level of Adoption Among Protected Cut Flower Growers”. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change 13 (9):2730-39. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2023/v13i92505.