Impact of front line demonstration on yield and economics of onion

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most important bulb crops in India, which plays a major role in supplementing the income of small and marginal farmers of Sikar District in Rajasthan. In the district one of the major constraints in onion cultivation is poor keeping quality of local variety. Most of the farmers in the district are still using the locally self produced seeds of unknown source. The cultivation of recommended /released varieties is very limited. To replace this anomaly Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Fatehpur-Shekhawati, Sikar has introduced improved variety of onion through front line demonstration in selected villages of Sikar district with the objective of getting higher production with good storage potentials under real farm situation. The result showed that maximum TSS (13.1%) and average keeping quality (5-6 months) was recorded in demonstration variety whereas, it was very less in farmers practices. On an average the bulb yield achieved by adopting improved production technology was 347.62q/ha, whereas, the corresponding yield ranges under farmers practices was to 343.20q/ha. The economics of data indicated that an average of Rs. 160834/ha was recorded net profit under recommended practices, while it was Rs 62030/ha under farmer practices. Cost benefit ratio was 2.34 under demonstration, while it was 1.90 under farmer practices. The study suggests that front line demonstration is one of the key extension tools for transfer of technology at grass root level that directly impact the horizontal spread of technology. This can be also a good option for enhancing farmers’ income.