Adoption ceilings and modern coarse cereal cultivars in India

The concept of, and evidence for, regional adoption ceilings is assessed for modern coarse cereal cultivars in India. Adoption is defined as the proportion of total area of a given coarse cereal planted to modern cultivars. Agroclimatic and soil differences are more important than disparities in infrastructure in explaining the variation across regions in estimated adoption ceilings. Qualitatively different modern cultivars from those now released are necessary to change regional adoption behavior. The results support an agricultural research strategy that gives higher priority to more regionally oriented breeding and testing programs in preference to the past emphasis on wide adaptation. © 1990 American Agricultural Economics Association.