www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR OF LAC GROWERS TOWARDS IMPROVED LAC CULTIVATION PRACTICES IN WEST SINGH BHUM DISTRICT OF JHARKHAND Sushant Biruli 1 & Dipak Kumar Bose 2 1 Research Scholar, Department of Agriculture Extension & Communication, SHUATS, Prayagraj, India 2 Associate Professor, Department of Agriculture Extension & Communication, SHUATS, Prayagraj, India ABSTRACT The study was conducted in Manoharpur black of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. A total number of 120 respondents were selected purposively from 8 villages under Manoharpur block to measure the level of knowledge in improved lac cultivation. The data was collected by personal interview method by using pre-structured interview schedule and latter appropriate statistical analysis was done to draw logical conclusion. The study revealed that 51.66 percent of respondents belong to middle age group and combined 46.66 percent of respondents under upper primary and secondary school level. It was found that majority 51.66 percent of respondents belong to medium level of land holding, i.e., 3-7 acres. The finding also revealed that 46.66 percent of respondents are having middle level of knowledge followed by 32.5 percent of high and 20.84 percent of low level of knowledge of improved lac cultivation practices. KEYWORD: Lac Cultivation, Knowledge, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand Article History Received: 20 Jul 2022 | Revised: 04 Aug 2022 | Accepted: 08 Aug 2022 INTRODUCTION Lac is the gift of nature to mankind and is the only known commercial resin of animal origin. It is the hardened resin secreted by the tiny lac insects belonging to a bug family. Lac is a resinous protective secretion from of the lac insects. This secretion has great commercial value. So, lac insect is cultivated and lac is collected from the host plant. To produce 1 kg of lac resin, around 3,00,000 insects lose their life. The lac insect yield resin, lac dye and lac wax. Application of these products has been updating with time. Lac still finds extensive use in Ayurveda and Siddha system of medicine. Lac has the unique properties of being eco-friendly, biodegradable and self-sustainable. Moreover, it is a natural material and thus currently it has assumed special importance. Since lac insects are cultured on host trees which are growing primarily in wasteland areas, promotion of lac and its culture can help in eco-system development with reasonably high economic returns. It also acts as a source of livelihood for tribal and poor sub-forest areas. Earlier lac was not cultivated but collected from naturally occurring infested host plants in forest are personally holding. In the beginning of twentieth century lac host plantations were raises in plains of India to cater to the needs of growing demand of lac trade. Technology interventions in the field of lac production came into force after the establishment of Indian lac research institute, Namkum, Ranchi (Jharkhand, later christened as IINRG). Researches on improvements in the processing and products development was also started by the institute and for which fundamental research work on lac chemistry, its structure and applied aspects on the use of lac in varieties of application were International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (IJHSS) ISSN (P): 2319–393X; ISSN (E): 2319–3948 Vol. 11, Issue 2, Jul–Dec 2022; 79–84 © IASET