Popularization of the Fennel Variety (Ajmer Fennel-2) and Impact Assessment of the Variety in Fennel-Growing Regions

Abstract

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is one of the economically important seed spices grown across arid and semi-arid India, and Rajasthan remains its leading producer. Ajmer Fennel-2 (AF-2), released by ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices (ICAR-NRCSS), was developed specifically to replace ageing, disease-prone farmer-saved seed stocks with a higher-yielding, Ramularia blight-tolerant alternative carrying elevated essential oil content. This paper documents its popularization through front line demonstrations (FLDs) run under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP), covering 113 Scheduled Caste and small/marginal (SC/SP) farmers across 20 villages of Pali and Sirohi districts during 2025–26. Together the participating farmers cultivated 284.5 Bigha, of which 49.0 Bigha (17.2%) was under organic management. Post-harvest interviews captured six farmer-level indicators. Germination came back good-to-very-good for every single farmer; 87.6% said yield met or exceeded what they expected; 85.8% reported disease-free stands; and satisfaction and willingness to recommend the variety to other farmers were identical at 84.1% each. The one indicator that did not move in AF-2's favour was market perception — 77.9% of farmers saw no change in demand relative to their earlier variety, and only 5.3% perceived it as improved. Roughly one in five farmers (18.6%) also flagged a residual knowledge gap, mostly around seed rate, irrigation timing, and pest management. Taken together, the results suggest AF-2 is agronomically ready for wider promotion among SC/SP growers, but the programme still needs a market-linkage push before field-level acceptance converts into higher farm income.