Comparative economics of Tricho-card beneficiary and non- beneficiary cotton farmers in Nagpur district

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the principal commercial crop in India, influencing the country's economy as it provides remunerative income and employment to most of the people. Cotton is popularly known as 'The King of Fibers' or 'The White Gold’. The present study was conducted in Hingna and Kalameshwar tehsil of Nagpur districts during 2023-24. The Tricho-card beneficiary and non-beneficiary cotton cultivators were selected randomly and the primary data was collected from the selected cultivators. The cost of production and cost returns were identified by using the standard cost concepts. The cost C for Tricho-card beneficiary cotton was found to be Rs. 130964.52 and for non-beneficiay cotton was found to be Rs.119039.11. The output – input ratio was also worked out and for Tricho-card beneficiary cotton it was 1.58 against cost C and for non-beneficiary cotton it was 1.36 against cost C. The constaints faced by the cultivators in adoption of Tricho-card were studied through personal interview method and identified that the Lack of awareness of Trichogramma (Tricho-card) in the cultivators field was the major problem for cultivators during adoption of Tricho-card in cotton. It was followed by Lack of knowledge about use of Tricho-cards (3 cards/acre) i.e for 7-8 times after the initiation of flowers at an interval lack of 8-10 days and non availability of good quality of Tricho-card at proper time in market is the next major constrain for Tricho-card beneficiary cotton cultivators.