Knowledge Level of the Apple Growers Towards Apple Cultivation Practices in Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh, India

Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is native to Southwestern Asia and is an extensively cultivated fruit crop in temperate regions around the world. Apple holds immense economic importance as a fruit crop globally. The study was undertaken with the objective of studying the knowledge level of apple growers about apple cultivation practices. This study is important because improving the knowledge of apple growers can lead to better farming practices, higher production and ultimately better income and livelihood for the farmers of Mandi district. The study was conducted in the Seraj valley of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, which has the highest area under apple cultivation. The total sample size for the present study comprises 120 apple growers. Percentage analysis was used in descriptive analysis for making single comparisons. It was observed that most respondents exhibited strong practical knowledge in apple cultivation practices such as grafting technique, pruning methods and pit spacing. However, significant gaps were observed in technical areas, particularly the names of the weedicides, insecticides and fungicides used. Despite this, nearly half of the respondents had medium knowledge, and only a small fraction had high knowledge. Correlation analysis revealed education (r= 0.757), age (r=0.69) and land holding were (0.256). The majority of the apple growers (50.83%) were middle-aged (38–49 years), while 33.33% were older and 15.83 per cent were younger. Regarding the income, most respondents (69.17%) earned between ₹1–3 lakhs annually, while 20 per cent earned less than ₹1 lakh and only 10.83% earned more than ₹3 lakhs. It was concluded that most of the apple growers were middle-aged with a moderate level of education. They mainly lived in a nuclear family and had medium-sized landholdings. The study also found that factors like age, education, landholding size, use of information sources, extension contact and economic motivation had a positive and significant correlation with farmers' knowledge about apple cultivation.