Dhakal, Tikaram

A study was conducted in the Kavrepalanchok district of Nepal to analyze the post-harvest technology adoption among open field and plastic house tomato growers and assess the factors of tomato production determining the income of the farmers. Altogether fifty-six tomato growers were selected randomly following the Simple Random Sampling technique for the household survey. Primary data were collected using pre-tested interviews with tomato farmers. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Ms. Excel 2010. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the adoption level of post-harvest technologies and a multiple linear regression model was carried out to estimate the factors of tomato production affecting the household income. Analysis of the post-harvest practices of farmers suggested that 53.85% of plastic house growers and 33.33% of open field growers harvested tomatoes in the yellow stage; 44.64% of farmers practiced grading; 88.5% plastic house tomatoes and 80.0% open field tomatoes were packed in plastic crates; only 26.49% practiced processing; more than half of the farmers had access to collection centers; the majority had a medium level of knowledge regarding different post-harvest management technologies. Among various factors, Nova variety was estimated to increase household income by 71% followed by production per unit area (48%), cost of cultivation (37%), access to processing industries (10%), and direct selling to consumers (9%). In wholesome, though NARC has recommended many post-harvest technologies, the adoption level is unsatisfactory. The unavailability of a sufficient quantity of quality fertilizers, lack of rural infrastructure facilities including roads, and inadequate technological extension were the factors hindering the adoption of post-harvest technologies in the study area.

A field experiment was carried out in the Western Terai of Nepal, Buddhabhumi municipality of Kapilvastu district to screen out the best-performing cucumber variety among the five most cultivated exotic varieties; LHC-1395, LHC-Maria, Dynasty, NS-408, and Rehmat-1080 during February to July of 2019. The package of cultivation practiced in this study replicates that of the local farmers. The experimental setup was laid on Randomized Complete Block Design having five replications and five treatments in an area of the 750-meter square. The crop geometry was maintained at 25 cm×15 cm and the size of each plot was 1.4 m2. Data was collected on the morphological and yield parameters such as plant height/vine length, number of leaves, number of branches, days to flowering and fruit development, number of fruits, fruit weight, and fruit yield per plant. The study revealed that the performance of Dynasty was best in terms of plant height with an average increase in height of 23.9 cm per week. LHC-1395 was demonstrated to be the variety with the highest increase in leaf number with an average of 2.08 leaves per week. Similarly, the highest number of branches was found to develop in NS-408 (3.2), the highest number of fruits per plant in LHC-1395 (11.36), the highest single fruit weight in LHC-Maria (208.44 grams), and the highest fruit yield per plant in LHC-1395 (2137.9 grams). Thus, the study concluded that LHC-1395 is a high-yielding variety suited for the study area.

Higher education is perceived as a capital outlay and a potential transformer of the socio-economic and cultural development of a nation. Nepal has a very brief history of modern educational systems which traces back to 1959 when Tribhuvan University was established as the first university in the country. Though the formal education in agriculture began in 1968 with the upgrade of the School of Agriculture into the College of Agriculture launching a two-year Intermediate of Science in Agriculture program, the institutes offering the undergraduate-level Bachelor of Science in Agriculture are recorded to stretch out only after the 1990s. The trend of establishment of undergraduate agricultural colleges has faced many ups and downs but the highest number of agricultural colleges were found to be established in the year 2018 i.e., 10. In the current situation, seven universities and their thirty-three constituent and affiliated colleges are offering bachelor’s degree in agriculture. Regardless of the ample expansion of agricultural institutes throughout the country, agricultural education is still an underrated subject in comparison to other fields. There is limited information available about the current status of the agricultural education system in Nepal; in fact, the secondary-level graduates lack proper information and guidance related to higher education in agriculture. This paper explores the history of agricultural education in Nepal; trend of agricultural institutional development; quota distribution, eligibility criteria and admission procedures for undergraduate studies in different universities; and has been prepared with a motive to shed light on agricultural academics, and guide students who are seeking a bright future in the agriculture sector.