Socioeconomic Determinants of the Awareness and Adoption of Apple Production Practices: A Case study of Balochistan, Pakistan.

This study was conducted in the Ziarat district of Balochistan to determine the socioeconomic determinants of the awareness and adoption of apple production practices in 2019. This study selected Ziarat district to investigate socioeconomic determinants of the awareness and adoption of apple production because it is located in the center of the high apple-growing districts in northern Balochistan. A sample of 120 respondents was selected through multi-stage-random sampling from two tehsils (Sinjawi and Ziarat) of district Ziarat. Data were collected with the help of a pre-tested interview schedule. The association of some chosen socioeconomic characteristics like age, education, and size of landholding of the farmers with their awareness and adoption level was measured through the chi-squire (χ2) test. The research outcomes showed that 49.2% of the respondents were middle-aged (35-50 years), the majority (72.5%) were illiterate, and 45% of respondents had medium-sized landholding, and they had excellent farming knowledge and apple growing experience. Furthermore, a non-significant association exists between age and adoption, and a significant association between landholding and awareness about recommendations has been found. A non-significant association existed between apple-growing experience and awareness/ adoption of recommendations. It is recommended that apple growers need direct or indirect training about the latest technologies and innovations, which helps enhance the adoption rate, apple yield and production, andgrower’s income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]