Assessment of production practices of small scale farm holders of tomato in Bagrote Valley, CKNP region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Abstract

The primary data used for the investigation were obtained through a questionnaire. One hundred and twenty (120) farmers were randomly selected; their education level, area of cultivation, time of planting, intercropping, varieties grown, fertilizer used, time of picking, packing, transportation and processing were looked at. It was found that out of 120 respondents, 52% were literate, and 48% were illiterate. 90% land holders were owners while remaining were tenants. Roma variety (46%) was preferred variety followed by Rio-Grind (38%) and Heirloom variety (16%). In terms of picking time, majority of farmers picked tomatoes in the afternoon (38%) or evenings (34%) and rest picked them in the mornings (28%). All the farmers transported tomatoes to local market either in wooden boxes (76%) or traditional baskets (24%). Majority of the farmers responded positively to drying tomato, but (27%) were unaware of processing procedures. Over all loss of tomato crop to fungal and viral diseases was estimated to be 24%.