Socio-economic, Communication and Psychological Profile of Mandarin Growers in South-Eastern Rajasthan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to analyze the socio-economic, communication and psychological profile of mandarin growers in South-Eastern Rajasthan. An ex-post-facto research design was employed in Jhalawar and Bhilwara districts, selected on the basis of maximum area under mandarin cultivation. A total of 240 mandarin growers were selected through proportionate random sampling from six Gram Panchayats. Data were collected through personal interviews and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean percent score, mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed that the majority of mandarin growers (62.91%) belonged to the middle-age group and 32.92 per cent had education up to secondary level. Most of the growers (64.17%) possessed medium experience in mandarin cultivation, while 35.00 per cent belonged to the small landholding category. A large proportion (81.25%) had medium area under mandarin orchards and 81.17 per cent had medium annual income. The majority of respondents (40.83%) belonged to medium-sized families. Regarding communication characteristics, private agency dealers (MPS 90.00) and agriculture supervisors (MPS 75.83) were the most important extension contacts. Mobile phones (MPS 87.92) and television (MPS 77.29) were the major sources of mass media exposure. More than half of the growers (56.67%) adopted check basin irrigation. Psychological characteristics indicated that the majority of respondents had medium levels of risk orientation (74.17%) and economic motivation (62.50%). The study highlights that mandarin growers possess moderate socio-economic status, communication exposure and psychological attributes, which provide opportunities for strengthening extension interventions and adoption of improved mandarin production technologies.