Thematic Areas for Training Needs of Cherry Growers- A Study in Baramulla District of Kashmir Valley

The study was conducted in horticulture zone Tangmarg of district Baramulla of Jammu and Kashmir. Horticulture Zone Tangmarg comprises of 65 villages out of which 35 villages were under cherry cultivation, from 35 villages 06 villages were selected purposively on the basis of maximum area under cherry cultivation. From the selected 06 villages 120 cherry growers were selected through proportionate allocation method. It has been observed that the skills of cherry growers regarding expert guidance planning, layout planning, soil testing pest and disease management, nutritional management training and pruning etc. were low and as such majority (46.67%) of the cherry growers have high training needs. Integrated disease management receiving highest score was the most prioritized thematic area for training need followed by Soil testing, training and pruning techniques, integrated pest management etc. The training need for marketing technique, processing and value addition packing and grading was given lowest priority by the cherry growers. It was concluded that need based cost effective training programmes and strategies need to be tailored, so that human resource be put to effective use for achieving sustainable cherry production.