Asian Research Journal of Agriculture

Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has released several rice varieties suited to the agro-climatic conditions of South Kerala, but their popularity and acceptance among farmers remain uneven. This study documented the KAU rice varieties cultivated by farmers, identified seed sources, assessed varietal popularity and acceptance, and ranked the reasons for cultivation and non-cultivation. An ex post facto research design was used. Data were collected during 2021–2022 from 105 rice farmers selected through simple random sampling from seven purposively selected panchayats across Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts. A pre-tested personal interview schedule was used, and Weighted Mean Score analysis was applied to rank farmers’ reasons. Uma was the most widely cultivated KAU variety, grown by 78.09 per cent of respondents, followed by Jyothi at 20.00 per cent. Government institutions were the principal seed source for 59.05 per cent of farmers. Low popularity scores accounted for 40.95 per cent of respondents, while 48.57 per cent fell within the low-acceptance category. High yield ranked first among the reasons for cultivation, followed by extension support. High cultivation cost ranked first among the reasons for non-cultivation, while lack of availability of good-quality seed and agro-climatic non-suitability shared the second rank. The findings indicate that varietal uptake is shaped by yield, extension support, seed access, production costs, and agro-climatic suitability.