Indian Res. J. Ext. Edu. 11 ( 3 ), September, 2011 67 Factors Associated with Sorghum Cultivation under Rice Fallows R.R. Chapke 1 , Sujay Rakshit 2 , J.S. Mishra 3 and J.V. Patil 4 1. Sr. Scientist (Agril. Ext.), 2 & 3. Principal Scientist, 4. Director, DDSR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad (AP) Corresponding author e-mail: chapke@sorghum.res.in ABSTRACT In rice-fallows of coastal Andhra Pradesh, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) cultivation is gaining popularity among farmers due to its high average productivity of the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh (5.7 t/ha) in the country. It urged to study influence of various factors like socio-personal, agro-economical, assets possessions and family background on sorghum productivity and profitability in rice-fallows. Results showed that agro-economical variables such as, land holding, area under sorghum crop, fertilizers cost, total cost of inputs, labour cost, cost of irrigations and pesticides used and grain yield had significant correlation with profits obtained from the sorghum cultivation. Sorghum was a new crop to the farmers as most of them (54%) had up to five years experience in the sorghum cultivation. It is also found that the resourceful farmers who utilized maximum inputs were able to obtain high returns from the sorghum cultivation. It needs attention of the research and developmental agencies to educate and involve such farmers as a key agent to identify and standardize location-specific production technologies and especially for its effective dissemination to maximize profit margin of the farmers in rice-fallows. Keywords: Farmers’ socio-personal profile; Agro-economical factors; Sorghum in rice-fallows; Sorghum is the fourth most important cereal consumed in India, cultivated during both rainy ( kharif ) and post-rainy (rabi ) seasons. Of late, the area under sorghum in India has declined drastically from 18.6 m ha in 1970 to 7.93 m ha in 2007-08. The total production also declined from 9.72 m t to 7.78 m t. and the national productivity (962 kg/ha) is quite low. However, the productivity of sorghum in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh is very high (5.7 t/ha) in the country and the crop is exclusively cultivated in rice-fallows under zero- tillage conditions ( Mishra et. al., 2011). After the harvest of rainy (kharif ) transplanted rice, sorghum is sown in the last week of December under zero-tillage condition to utilize the residual soil moisture. Sowing is done manually in rows (40x20cm) at 4-6 cm depth by making a hole with wooden stick. The crop is normally harvested at physiological maturity (110 days after sowing). Since, the crop is commercially grown, resource availability, possession of agricultural assets and ecological conditions are the major concerns for obtaining maximum sorghum yield. Socio-economic and agro-ecological factors are of paramount importance as it regulates the decision making to cultivate new crop and adoption of innovative ideas. It was assumed that use of high inputs and irrigation were the main factors for the high productivity of sorghum. Practically, the sorghum growers in this area are inclined towards obtaining maximum monetary benefits from grain yields than other benefits. Their action to select the crop and its management is dependent on many factors like social, economical, physical, situational, cultural and markets. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to (i) study the socio-personal and agro-economical characteristics of the farmers and (ii) to study the relationship of certain independent variables related to socio-personal and agro-economical characteristics of the farmers with profitability of sorghum cultivation. METHODOLOGY The present study was conducted in seven villages namely, Athota, Kamathavaripalam, Dhanthuluru, Siripuram and Kunchavaram (Block-Kollipara), and Nandivelugu, and Ananthavaram (Block-Tenali) in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The location was purposefully selected as the productivity of sorghum in