ADOPTION OF GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN MANGO CULTIVATION

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is one of the quality standards within the framework of commercial agricultural production for long-term improvement and sustainability. Quality Council of India (QCI) launched Good Agricultural Practices for India – INDGAP defining certain minimum standards with a well-defined certification and accreditation mechanism to facilitate national and international farm produce trade. Despite the benefits of GAP in mango production, there is little information known by the farmers about it, even though they lack adoption of the GAP. The present study was conducted to explore the level of adoption of Good Agricultural Practices by the mango growers in the Navsari district of Gujarat. For the selection of respondents, a multistage random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected through personal interviews using the structured schedule. The study indicated that more than half (53.00 percent) of the mango growers had a low level of overall adoption of GAPs of mango cultivation, followed by 34.00 percent of respondents. Results of practices-wise adoption clearly revealed that waste and pollution management practices under all farm base component was adopted by 43.00 per cent of respondents, whereas irrigation practices of GAP, fertilizer application and site history and site management were adopted by 78.00, 74.00 and by 72.00 per cent of respondents, respectively.