Title: A KNOWLEDGE TEST FOR CAULIFLOWER GROWERS ON AGROCHEMICALS AND PESTICIDE HANDLING PRACTICES

Authors: Esha Chauhan, Jasbir Singh Manhas and Poonam Parihar

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: agrochemicals, pesticide handling practices, reliability, validity, item analysis

Volume: 41

Issue: 2

Year: June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2026.41.2.0001

Abstract: Vegetables play an important role in ensuring food, nutritional and economic security and their production increasingly depends on the use of agrochemicals; however, improper use and handling of these inputs pose serious risks to human health and the environment. The present study was undertaken to develop and standardize a knowledge test to assess cauliflower growers' knowledge regarding agrochemical use and pesticide handling practices in the Jammu region. An initial set of 47 items was administered to 30 cauliflower growers selected from a non-sampled area. Item analysis was carried out by computing item difficulty and discrimination indices, and a dichotomous scoring procedure was followed by assigning one mark for each correct response and zero for each incorrect response. The reliability of the test was assessed using the split-half method and was found to be 0.74, while the reliability coefficient of the full test, estimated using the Spearman- Brown prophecy formula, was 0.85. In addition, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.81, indicating good internal consistency of the test items. Content validity was evaluated using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI), with a scale content validity index (S-CVI) of 0.90. Accordingly, a total of 34 items were finally retained for the knowledge test. The developed knowledge test was found to be reliable and valid for assessing the knowledge of cauliflower growers regarding agrochemicals use and pesticide handling practices.