Traditional Orchard Management Practices of Large Cardamom Adopted by The Rural Farmers in Nepal

Proper orchard management is crucial for optimizing the productivity as well as quality of large cardamom. This study was conducted in Marsyangdi, Dudhpokhari, and Dordi rural municipalities, which were purposively selected to assess the cardamom orchard management practices by the rural farmers of Lamjung district, Nepal. Data were collected through household survey using semi-structured questionnaires, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII). Altogether 60 respondents were selected with a purposive random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using STATA software. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were from Janajati ethnicity (95%), middle-age group i.e. 30-50 age (48.33%) and male (75%). Furthermore, most of them belonged to medium-sized family (73.33%) and were earning most of their income from agriculture (85%). Results of the study revealed the variation in the scale of adoption of different management practices among the sampling household. Most of the households practiced weeding (98.33%), pruning (51.6%) and applied farmyard manure (81.67%) while the least of them have irrigation facilities in their cardamom field (25%). Mulching was practiced by 30% and Bordeaux mixture was applied by 13.33%. The highest incidence of the borer pest and leaf blight disease was observed by the respondents. The chi-square test revealed that the factors such as age, gender and education level were significantly associated with the adoption of field management practices. Lack of inputs, irrigation facilities and greater infestation of diseases and pests were found to be the major problems for cardamom production. It is recommended that improving access to irrigation facilities, use of certified planting material, use of an appropriate dose of fertilizer, and proper diseases and pest management practices must be prioritized in the study area.