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The profitability, resource-use efficiency and technical efficiency of organic crops in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh is estimated from primary data collected from 60 organic farmers selected randomly using three-stage sampling. The cost return data showed that maize and paddy were profitable organic crops, and increasing return to scale was supported by the Cobb-Douglas production function. Mean technical efficiency was 75, 55, 47, and 31% in maize, followed by barley, wheat, and paddy, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetable cultivation plays a vital role in the agricultural economy of India. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Vegetable cultivation is facing challenges in profitability and economical use of resources. But a limited research has been done on resource use efficiency and elasticity of production in tomato, cauliflower and peas which are the major vegetable crops grown in Kullu. The present study was carried out in Kullu valley in the year 2019-2020 and multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select sixty farmers from different panchayats and villages on the basis of area they had under these crops. The elasticity of inputs used in the production of vegetables was worked out by fitting Cobb-Douglas production function. The sum of elasticity coefficients in case of tomato (Σbi = 1.22), cauliflower (Σbi = 1.56) and pea (Σbi = 1.31) were greater than unity which is statistically significant and shows increasing returns to scale. The ratio of marginal value product (MVP) to marginal factor cost (MFC) represented by value of r, was greater than unity in tomato for plant protection (8.38) and labour (1.05) which indicated their under-utilization. Value of plant protection (0.30) on the other hand was less than unity in cauliflower, which shows its over-utilization. In case of peas, values for fertilizer (-1.09), seed (-2.44) and FYM (0.87) showed these were over utilized. It is suggested that the farmers should be trained for judicious use of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India dairy farming is a significant part of the rural population, providing not only supplementary income and nutritional standards but also organic manures and draught power. Andhra Pradesh ranks 5th in total milk production in India with an output of 15.04 million metric tonnes and Chittoor district is one of the leading districts for dairy farming in the state. There is an increasing trend in milk production; however, the main drawback faced by the milk producers in dairy farming is the low productivity of milch animals. Assessing the economics of milk production would be extremely beneficial in planning for the improvement of productivity of dairy animals and framing policies to increase the profitability of dairy farms. Methods: Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh was purposively selected for the present investigation. The primary data was collected from 80 respondents of which 40 each from two villages in the year 2021. The economics of milk production and the resource use efficiency of milk were computed based on collected data. Result: The per-day gross cost for maintaining local cow, crossbred cow and buffalo was found to be ` 161.09, ` 246.16 and ` 196.07, respectively. The overall cost per litre of milk was found to be slightly high in the case of buffalo (` 31.45), followed by the local cow (` 31.33) and crossbred cow (` 19.69), respectively. The net returns per litre of milk were found to be highest in the case of the crossbred cow (` 7.45), followed by buffalo (` 3.66) and local cow (` 0.12). It was observed that the net return per litre of milk for local cows was very less due to high feed cost, labour cost and low productivity of milk. Green fodder, dry fodder and concentrate were observed underutilized whereas labour was found to be over-utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agronomic measures to conserve the residual soil moisture are very suitable for the dry area because of their very low cost and ability to reduce soil erosion. The region where after the harvest of rainy season crops, lack of sufficient soil moisture accessibility limits the cultivation of dry season crops. A technique like retaining crop residues and weed biomass on the soil surface along with zero tillage initiates the process that leads to improve soil quality and overall enhancement of resource use efficiency. The study was carried out to find out the productivity and nutrient dynamic of rabi legume in maize-legume cropping system under residual moisture conditions with bio-mulches and no-tillage. It will be helpful to develop sustainable and resource-efficient cropping system pattern for the region. A field trial was conducted for consecutive two years (2017–18 and 2018–19) at the dry region of West Bengal, India to assess the bio-mulches under the no-tillage condition on soil properties, productivity and nutrient uptake of legumes under Maize-legume cropping systems. From the experiment, it was revealed that the maize-lathyrus cropping system in combination with bio-mulching i.e. in-situ maize stalk mulch (MSM) + Paddy straw (5 t ha– 1) is the best efficient maize-based cropping systems and soil moisture conservation measures for improving soil fertility, crop yield and nutrient uptake in the rainfed dry region. Therefore, it could be concluded that the growing of legume pulses under different cropping systems along with no-tillage not only will improve the soil fertility status but also will increase the production and cropping intensity. This type of study could also be done under crops like winter oilseeds, cereals, tuber crops under different agro-climatic situations with locally available bio-mulches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken with a sample size of 90 potato growers of East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh State, India through stratified random sampling during 2019-20. The cost of cultivation was estimated based on cost concept. Cobb-Douglas production function was used as the better fit over linear form to find out the resource use efficiency of each variable input in potato production process. It was revealed that the total cost of cultivation on small, medium and large farms were ... 41604, ... 44150 and ... 44608 ha-1 respectively. Potato cultivation is highly labour intensive, as human labour contributes about 30% in Cost C3 (total cost). The gross return varied between ... 179914 ha-1 on large farms and ... 117927 ha-1 on small farms. The benefit-cost ratio varied between 3.16 to 5.63. There were many problems related to recurrent price fluctuation, high marketing, storage and transportation costs, inadequate storage facilities and lack of competitive marketing. For resource-use efficiency, the ratios of MVP to MFC were greater than one for human labour showing significant under-utilization of this resource and possibility of additional use to achieve the optimal level. Adoption of new production technology with sustained resources utilization can help farmers in minimizing the cost of production. In Arunachal Pradesh, the potato production and marketing can be improved by constructing the cold storage units in rural areas near production points, improving the market intelligence services and to make availability of the reliable information on processing and value addition, through small scale industries, FPOs and cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the utilization of water and fertilizer nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in semi-arid degraded land is utmost important. A double-coated, and water-retentive controlled release silica coated NP fertilizer (CSNPF) adaptable to varying temperature and soil moisture regimes was developed. The prepared NP nutrient core was coated with poly-vinayl alcohol (PVA) and silicon (Si). The SEM revealed that CSNPF was spherical heterogeneous crystals. The FTIR analysis indicated a stable nature of CSNPF. It contained ∼ 17.30% N and 44.70% P 2 O 5. During incubation, the CSNPF released ∼61 and 64% P at 25 and 35°C, 65 and 70% P at 25 and 35°C, and 68 and 72% P at 25 and 35°C under 1.0, 0.67, and 0.33 bar soil moisture suction, respectively, confirming release of adequate nutrients under high temperature and dry soil also. The N and P release rates of CSNPF were ∼25–38% slower than commercial di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) under varying temperature and moisture. During field experiment, application of 75% of N and P through CSNPF resulted in higher biomass yield of sorghum (62%) and oat (42%) than N and P application through commercial sources. Nutrient application through CSNPF improved P use efficiency (up to 20–22%) and water use efficiency of crops (by 20–28%). The CSNPF significantly improved soil structure, water holding capacity, microbial population, and their activity due to the presence of Si in it. Hence, the novel CSNPF could be utilized as an alternative to commercial P-fertilizers for enhancing nutrient and water use efficiency in semi-arid regions. • Controlled release silica coated N and P fertilizer (CSNPF) was developed. • The P release rate of CSNPF was ∼ 25–38% slower than commercial DAP. • The CSNPF could improve P use efficiency (up to 20–22%) and water use efficiency. • The CSNPF improved soil properties like structure and water holding capacity. • About 25% N and P could be saved by the application of CSNPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field experiments were conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Hukkeri, Belagavi, Karnataka, India during 2018-19 and 2019-20 to study the system productivity and resource use efficiency of alternative cropping systems for sugarcane. There were 11 treatments involving different cropping systems viz., soybean-sorghum-ridge gourd, pigeon pea±green gram (1:1)-beans, pigeon pea±soybean (1:1)-cowpea, soybean-wheat-groundnut, groundnut-sorghum-sesame, maize-cabbage-fallow, soybean-wheat-green gram, maize-wheat-sesame, Bt cotton-groundnut, sugarcane±onion (1:2) and sugarcane (sole) replicated thrice and laid out in randomized complete block design. Among the cropping systems, maize-cabbage-fallow system recorded significantly higher total system productivity (58,234 kg ha-1), water use efficiency (199.67 kg ha-1-mm) and energy use efficiency (129.91 MJ ha-1) compared to rest of the cropping systems. However, sugarcane (sole) recorded (1,11,008 kg ha-1, 68.64 kg ha-1-mm and 16.58 MJ ha-1, respectively). Based on alternative cropping systems involving only field crops, maize-wheat-sesame (9633 kg ha-1, 30.65 kg ha-1-mm and 132.20 MJ ha-1, respectively), soybean-wheat-groundnut (7602 kg ha-1, 27.40 kg ha-1-mm and 32.35 MJ ha-1, respectively), soybean-wheat-green gram (6424 kg ha-1, 23.05 kg ha-1-mm and 31.91 MJ ha-1, respectively) and Bt cottongroundnut (4503 kg ha-1, 17.97 kg ha-1-mm and 16.95 MJ ha-1, respectively) were significantly higher. By adopting the alternative cropping systems, there was water saving of approximately 45% compared to sugarcane monocropping and sugarcane±onion (1:2) intercropping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cotton is one of the important commercial crops cultivated in India for fibre and oil. The average cotton productivity of India is lower compared to other countries. Among the improved agronomic practices, important yield contributing agro techniques are crop geometry and fertilizer application. Drip irrigation and use of water soluble fertilizers (WSF) by drip system is a recommended practice to increase both water and nutrient use efficiency. Taking this aspect, a field investigation was carried out to find the resource use efficiency, productivity and profitability of inter specific Bt cotton hybrid with different levels crop geometry and drip fertigation. Methods: A field experiment was conducted at TNAU, Coimbatore during 2013 and 2014 for two consecutive years. The experiment was laid out in a strip plot design with three replications. The treatments in main plot consisted of four crop geometry levels (120 x 60 cm, 120 x 90 cm, 150 x 60 cm and 150 x 90 cm) and sub plots consisted of four nutrient levels viz., 75%, 100%, 125% of recommended dose as water soluble fertilizer (WSF) through drip system and as conventional practice. Resource use efficiency (water, nutrient), seed cotton yield and profitability of the system were recorded. Result: The experiment revealed that the fertilizer use efficiency and the efficiency of individual nutrient (partial factor productivity) for the crop geometry of 120 x 90 cm and 75% RDF were higher in both the years. The crop geometry of 120 x 90 cm in combination with 125% RDF effectively utilized the water as indicated by its water use efficiency and comparable results was also obtained with 100% RDF. The mean (2012-13 and 2013-14) seed cotton yield of 2,713 kg ha-1 in 120 x 90 cm kg ha-1 for 125% RDF was 41.5 per cent higher compared to their lower counterpart. Their interaction was significant, consequently the treatment M2S3 (120 x 90 cm and 125% RDF) recorded higher mean (both years) seed cotton of 3,176 kg ha-1 which was nearly 93.7 per cent increase over conventional irrigation and fertilizer application (M4S4). Here M1S2 could be considered as alternate option as it maintained similarity with the best treatment. The gross and net return was estimated to be higher with spacing of 120 x 90 cm with 125% RDF and however the benefit cost ratio was higher with 120 x 90 cm with 100% RDF followed by 120 x 60 cm with 100% RDF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to depleting water supplies and the cultivation of high water-demanding crops like rice, water deficit in crop production has become a major concern, especially in semi-arid regions of South Asia. Soybean has been considered a possible substitution for high-water-demand crops with improved water productivity and nutrient quality. However, due to inefficient and injudicious water and fertilizer management, the overall productivity and profitability of soybean is quite low. Hence, a three-year field investigation was carried out using strip-strip plot design with three replications to study the individual and combined effects of tillage, irrigation, and fertilizer levels on crop yield and quality, soil moisture and soil microbial dynamics. Results revealed that zero tilled-flat beds (ZTFB) and conventional tilled-raised beds (CTRB) reduced the irrigation water requirement by 5.15–5.45 and 3.12–3.49 cm ha−1, respectively, compared to conventional tilled-flat beds (CTFB). Moreover, CTRB enhanced seed yield by 8.1–31.5 %, biomass yield by 6.5–34.1 %, crop water productivity (CWP) by 27.2–30.9 %, and irrigation water productivity (IWP) by 55.2–57.5 % over CTFB. Similarly, in 2016 and 2017, CTRB had higher SPAD-chlorophyll content (34.3 and 33.2 in the top leaves) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (0.51 and 0.71) values than CTFB and ZTFB. At 0.0–0.30 m soil depth, ZTFB showed the highest soil moisture content of 11.2 % and 22.5 %, respectively, leading to the highest relative water content (RWC) of 76.7–78.7 % in soybean leaves. As a result, ZTFB took 4–8 days longer to mature than CTFB, delaying the sowing of the following wheat crop. During the 2016–2018 growing seasons, irrigation applied at the depletion of available soil moisture (DASM) by 25 % and 100 % rate of recommended fertilizer (RRF) achieved significantly higher crop, biomass yields, protein yield, SPAD, NDVI, and CWP than irrigation at lower levels. Interaction effects revealed that combinations of CTRB and ZTFB + 25 % DASM + 100 % RRF strategies generated significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher seed yield, biomass yield, and CWP. At the same time, ZTFB had significantly higher alkaline and acid phosphatase activity than CTRB, whereas the latter had significantly higher soil microbial biomass carbon. In comparison to individual use of these crop management methods, the results of this study showed planning soybean either in CTRB or ZTFB, irrigating at 25 % DASM, and fertilizing crops with 100 % RRF could help achieve higher crop and water productivity, thus sustaining soybean production in India and adjoining regions with similar agro-ecology. • Tillage, irrigation and fertilizer rates on soybean growth were studied in three years. • CTRB+DASM 25 % + 100 % fertilizer rate enhanced soybean yield and resource use efficiency. • Due to higher soil moisture content, a soybean grown in ZT-flat beds matures later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean is the second important oilseed crops grown in different parts of India after groundnut. Due to its unique qualities it is also known as miracle crop. It has 18-20 per cent edible oil, 45 per cent protein with high level of amino acid such as metheonine and cystine. Madhya Pradesh is one of the major soybean producing states of India. In the year 2011, total area allocated to soybean crop in Madhya Pradesh was 5.66 million hectare with production 6.28 million tonnes. The share of Madliya Pradesh to India's area and production of soybean was 56.04 and 51.43 per cent respectively. The study was conducted in Madhya Pradesh state of India in the year 2012-13. The overall objectives of present study was to find out the cost and return structure and resource use efficiency of soybean cultivation in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. The average cost of cultivation was observed 28562.53 on overall farms. Cost of production per quintal of soybean was 1547.54 on overall farms. The Input-output ratio was lowest in case f small and highest in case of medium farmers. It was observed 1.54 on overall farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orange and kinnow occupy an important place in the horticultural industry of the country as well as in J&K state. In the present study, resource use efficiency of orange and kinnow was analysed. The regression coefficient values of selected inputs under orange orchards, mainly human labour, manures + fertilizers, irrigation, plant protection and training/ pruning varied significantly at the five age groups of five years from 5th to 28th years, corresponded to overall values as 0.955, 0.012, -0.012, 0.013 and -0.050, respectively. Out of which human labour, manures + fertilizers and plant protection with positive sign indicated that with one per cent increase in the use of these inputs, the output could be increased by 0.96 per cent in case of human labour and 0.01 per cent each in other two inputs. The regression coefficient of training/ pruning was statistically significant but negative indicating that one per cent increase in expenditures on training/ pruning could decrease the output to the extent of 0.05 per cent. The marginal value productivities of human labour, manures + fertilizers and plant protection were positive with their values at 0.185,110.452,0.076, respectively, whereas that of training/ pruning (-0.638) and irrigation (-0.054) were negative thereby indicated that there still existed scope of investing on human labour, manures + fertilizers and plant protection. The overall regression coefficient values obtained from kinnow cultivation were 0.029, -0.024, 0.016, 0.015 and 0.138 for human labour, manures + fertilizers, irrigation, plant protection and training/ pruning, respectively, out of which human labour and training/ pruning were statistically significant, indicating that one per cent increase in expenditures on these two inputs could increase the output to the extent of 0.03 per cent and 0.14 per cent, respectively. The regression coefficients of irrigation, plant protection and manures + fertilizers were non significant. The marginal value productivities of human labour, irrigation, plant protection and training/ pruning were positive with their values at 0.031, 0.025, 0.014 and 0.175, respectively, whereas that of manures + fertilizers (-0.027) was negative thereby indicating that there still existed scope in the investment on human labour, irrigation, plant protection and training/ pruning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Need is being felt to explore the possibilities of saving critical inputs by adopting alternative resources conservative technologies in agriculture as zero tillage and bed planting etc. Main aim of this paper was to see the impact of zero tillage technology in rice wheat system. Zero tillage/no tillage refer to planting of various crops with minimum of soil disturbance. Recently this technology has been recommended to farmers in Punjab to conserve water, save fuel, ensure timely sowing and to reduce drudgery of work. Consequent upon good response from farmers, area under zero till wheat has increased from merely 750 hectares in 2000-01 to over 2 lakh hectares in 2008-09. Economic analysis of the data presented in this paper shows that zero tillage method for wheat cultivation is economical and attractive option for farming community. The high yield grain and less cost of production per hectare were noted on zero tillage farms as compared with conventional farms. The estimates of regression analysis show that zero tillage could increase income of the farmers substantially. Finally, the adoption of zero tillage technology improves farmer's profit, improves his livelihood and eventually reduces poverty. Unawareness about the technology, management of standing stubbles of paddy crop and deep sowing of seed were mentioned as some of the hindering factors in the fast adoption of this technology on farmers' field. The various policy measures in this regard include extension of technical know-how of zero till technology, conducting field trials, giving a new package of practice to the farmers and providing easy access to zero till drill, either at subsidized seed drill price or through custom hiring by the co-operative societies/state agriculture department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of resources available and how they are combined and utilized in aquaculture largely determine its economic viability and social profitability. Using a novel Resource Cost Ratio (RCR), this study analyzes resource use efficiency and social profitability of an integrated aqua farm located in Tripura, India. RCR, a variant of the Domestic Resource Cost Ratio (DRCR), is the ratio of the net cost of non-marketable resources and the net value addition by using marketable resources. The RCR for the integrated farm was found to be -0.24. The negative value of RCR shows positive profitability for the integrated farm. The corresponding value for a specialized farm was found to be 0.52. The difference is the greater resource use efficiency of the integrated approach. Private and social profits per unit cost for the integrated farm (0.26 and 0.08, respectively) were higher than for the specialized farm (0.11 and 0.04, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an economic indicator that fails to fully account for the major benefits and costs of economic activity. As a consequence, it is an inadequate indicator of sustainable economic welfare. To overcome the deficiencies of GDP, a Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) was devised in the 1990s. The GPI has since undergone significant modification and improvement. Calculation of the GPI for India for the period 1987-2003 reveals two important pieces of information. Firstly, the per capita GPI remained consistently lower than per capita GDP over the entire study period. Secondly, the rate of India's genuine progress between 1987 and 2003 was less spectacular than that indicated by India's per capita GDP. To facilitate a greater rate of genuine progress over the coming decades, India needs a new phase of GDP growth based on distributional equity, production excellence, increased resource use efficiency, and minimal natural capital depletion. Eventually, however, India will need to make the transition to a steady-state economy -- something which ought not to preclude further progress -- or face the prospect of having to endure a declining per capita GPI caused largely by an economy growing beyond its maximum sustainable scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]