Impact Study on Front Line Demonstration of Rice Variety Shalimar Rice-4 (SR-4) in District Kupwara

Background: Paddy constitutes a prominent cereal crop in district Kupwara of Jammu and Kashmir. The low productivity in the respective area might be accredited to the non-implementation of the amended cultivation practices and non-availability of high yielding rice varieties. Consequently, efforts have been focused on showcasing high-yielding rice varieties released by SKUAST-Kashmir, along with advanced production technologies to boost rice productivity. Methods: The current investigation was executed by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kupwara,SKUAST-Kashmir J and K to appraise the imprints of frontline demonstration aimed at promoting the adoption of popular rice variety, Shalimar rice -4(SR-4).180 demonstrations were conducted in different villages of district Kupwara .90 farmers were involved in FLD programme encasing an expanse of 36.0 hectare in three consecutive years-2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24. Result: Results showed that the rice variety Shalimar rice-4 (SR-4)has highest grain yield (81.00-86.00q/ha) under irrigated conditions during kharif seasons of 2021-22,2022-23 and 2023-24). In frontline demonstrations, a mean output of 83.33 q/ha was achieved, while farmer practices yielded only 51.66 q/ha. This resulted in an observed technology gap of 1.00, an extension gap of 32.33 and a technology index of 1.19 percent between the two methods. Consequently, the average yield of paddy improved by 63.33 percent compared to traditional farming practices.