Title: KNOWLEDGE TEST TO ANALYSE THE KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF FARMERS TOWARDS BIO-FERTILIZERS

Authors: Nitin Rajput, G. R. Patel and Pawan Kumar Gupta

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: difficulty index, discrimination index, reliability, sustainable agriculture

Volume: 41

Issue: 2

Year: June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2026.41.2.0010

Abstract: Bio-fertilizers play an important role in sustainable agriculture by improving the availability of nutrients in the soil. The rising awareness about the environment and sustainable agriculture has made these fertilizers more important, particularly for farmers. They supply nutrients to plants through the process of nitrogen fixing, solubilizing phosphorus, and producing growth hormones. However, there is a need for more adoption of efficient bio-fertilizers techniques by farmers to get better and higher-quality yields. The first stage of the innovation adoption process is the knowledge stage. There is a lack of standard and reliable tools to measure the knowledge of farmers regarding bio-fertilizers. The present study aimed to develop and standardize a knowledge test on bio-fertilizers and their application. It was conducted in the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh with 30 randomly selected farmers using bio-fertilizers techniques. Initially, 29 items were selected and evaluated for reliability and validity. Finally, 24 items were retained with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.890, a discrimination index of more than 0.25, and a point biserial correlation coefficient of more than 0.3. These results indicate strong internal consistency and validity of the tool. It could assist extension staff in designing training programs and help in formulating policies to promote bio-fertilizer use.