Technological Gap-An Emerging Issues in Transfer of Custard Apple Production Technology

The study was conducted in Purandar Tahsil of Pune district, in all 15 villages on random basis were selected on the basis of more acres under plantation. From each village, 9 respondents were selected on the same criteria hence in all 135 respondents were interviewed. It was found that about 75 per cent of the custard apple cultivators were in between the age of 34 to 55 years. 62 per cent of them were Secondary educated. About 60 per cent had low level of social participation. Their orchard size was 0.29 to 0.94 ha. (88.00 per cent), 74 per cent of them earned Rs. 1 lakh to 2 lakh per annum earning from custard apple cultivation. Disease management (64 per cent), pest management (63 per cent), fertilizer management (63 per cent), selection of planting material (61 per cent) training and pruning management (61 per cent), weed management (50 per cent). The reasons for existence of technological gap was scarcity of irrigation water during Bahar treatment period (91 per cent), lack of knowledge about recommended chemical fertilizer dose (90 per cent) and unavailability of disease pest and drought resistant variety (85 per cent). The study emerged with the major implications that to promote the respondent cultivars for establishing the processing units and markets on co-operative basis.