Decision support system on nutrient recommendations for rice - an end - user assessment
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Date
2011
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Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara
Abstract
Effective transfer of technology is very crucial in agricultural development of any nation. This
is a challenge particularly for countries like India where diverse farming, highly fragmented land
holdings, large number of farmers, several official languages are involved in the process. As a result
only a fraction of farming community is largely benefited by utilizing the new technological
advancements. The information needs of agriculture at large are diverse and complicated. Reaching
right information at right time is a major challenge through conventional extension methods. Thus
introducing modern information and communication technology is a better option. It is an established
fact that fertilisers contribute up to 50 percent to total production. However, the prevailing
communication gap between scientific groups and farming communities is making the task highly
difficult for practical implementation of official fertilization practices in the field. Farmers are not fully
aware of nutrient doses Vs fertiliser quantities resulting in improper fertilization practices in the field.
Such improper practices are leading to imbalance in nutrient use and finally leading to soil fertility
degradation. The major requirement in this communication process is compilation, classified
arrangement and proper management of diverse information on various fertilisers, nutrient doses for a
wide range of crops and cropping systems. This has to be done in such a way that the specific
information is quickly accessible and easily translated in to a practical recommendation.
Realizing this, Kerala Agricultural University through a collaborative research programme with
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has come up with a decision support system entitled
‘Nutrient Recommendation Syatem for Rice’ (NRSR). The NRSR is a generic decision support system
for rice capturing the selected seven rice cropping systems of Kerala, expected as an user friendly
software package for choosing appropriate or available manurial and fertilizer options aiming
sustainable yields and reasonable farmer’s profit. The NRSR will aid as a decision making tool for
calibrating the required dose of fertilizers for a particular area of land in a specific cropping system,
specific to soil test data and arriving at the total cost of each manures and fertilizers. This package
supported with touch screen option, will act as an efficient extension tool for the agricultural officers,
rice scientists, and other extensionists in decision making and prescribing appropriate nutrient
management options (Ganesan, 2006).
Developing a DSS software is a time consuming and resource intensive project. So a
systematic user-participatory assessment exercise, prior to its large scale recommendation is
imperative. The study was conducted to identify the gaps and to assess the technical quality,
information efficiency, and userfriendliness as perceived by end- users.
The research was conducted among the agricultural officers of Thrissur and Palakkad districts of
Kerala as they were two leading districts in rice cultivation in the state. The respondents from both the
districts agreed that it could save the time of user in getting solutions for field problems, and also it is
cheaper when compared to the process of seeking human expertise. An increase in knowledge level of
respondents regarding nutrient management aspects of rice cultivation also happened after giving
exposure to NRSR.
The main suggestions obtained for the refinement of software were as follows:
1.The fertiliser calculator provided in NRSR is capable of performing straight fertiliser calculation
only, and unable to calculate fertiliser dose for complex fertilisers like Factomphose which is
commonly used and easily available nitrogen source. So it should also be included in the system.
2. The fertiliser calculator in the system was designed in such a way that it is according to lowmedium-
high status of soil fertility, it should be sensitive to numerical data of soil test for getting more
accurate results.
3. NRSR should be developed in local language so that maximum users could benefit.
4. NRSR should be linked and updated according to weather forecast and given in the web to access by
all kinds of users at any time.
5. More clear photographs should be included to diagnose the symptom easily.
6.Demo videos for seed treatment, mat nursery preparation and other operations in rice should also
included in the system.
7. The latest rice varieties with specific charecteristics and photographs should also be included in
NRSR.
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Citation
173130