Perception of Shifting Cultivation Practicing Farmers towards Soil and its Nutrient Loss in Zunheboto District of Nagaland

The present study was conducted in the Zunheboto district of Nagaland. Zunheboto is bordered by Mokokchung district in the east, Kohima district in the south and Wokha district in the west. Out of total twelve districts in Nagaland, Zunheboto district is selected for the study. Majority of the respondents were from middle age group, educated up to literate, middle caste group from the joint family, having large family size. Most of the respondents were from small size of land holding, having medium group of annual income, majority of the respondents were from medium social participation. The findings of the study indicated that majority of respondents had adequate knowledge regarding impacts on complete forest loss, impacts on diverse land use system, bad impact of burned land on health of people and burning practice negatively impacted the biochemical processes of soils. Correlation coefficient showed that variables viz.., annual income, Land holding, social participation, extension contact were positively and significantly related with perception of respondents towards shifting cultivation practices.