OAR@ICRISATFarmers' Perceptions of the Effects of Plant Diseases on the Yield and Nutritive Value of Crop Residues used for Peri-Urban Dairy Production on the Deccan Plateau: Findings from Participatory Rural AppraisalsK RDeviauthorRBandyopadhyayauthorA JHallauthorSIndiraauthorSPandeauthorPJaiswalauthorPlant diseases influence the quantity and quality of groundnut and sorghum crop residues used as fodder for ruminants. The present socio-economic study assessed farmers' perceptions, their awareness, and the relative importance and impact of plant diseases in farmers' livelihood systems. Case studies were carried out in four villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan Plateau with the help of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques. The results from PRAs suggest that sorghum and groundnut crop residues constitute a major source of fodder, and predominantly provide 'feed security' to the ruminants during summer, as few alternatives are available to farmers in dryland areas. The problem of foliar diseases cannot be viewed in isolation, as farmers' concerns are more on the cumulative effects of pests and diseases. Farmers believe that diseases reduce the quality of crop residues that leads to feed refusal by, and poor health of ruminants. The effects on the quality of crop residues are more seriously perceived in groundnut as farmers report 50% losses in foliage and fodder yield. In sorghum, the perceived losses are 10-30%, but low price offered by traders for disease-affected fodder reduce earnings of the poor from fodder sale. Commercial markets exist for fodder transactions of sorghum stover while no such markets are reported for groundnut crop residues. The poor are the link to the sorghum fodder market. Therefore, validation of fodder-related technologies through the poor is necessary to increase cash incomes from fodder sale. Genetic improvement of feed-quality of crop residues without compromising on essential yield traits is critical for farmers' acceptance of new sorghum and groundnut varieties. Research on inexpensive and easy-to-use pest and disease management options is necessary to improve the quantity and quality of crop residues of sorghum and groundnut.Others2000International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid TropicsMonograph

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