Has Production of Cotton in Maharashtra Shown Stable Growth Over the Years ?

Abstract

The growth and instability in area, production and yield of cotton in Maharashtra was assessed before and after introduction of Bt cotton varieties. The study aims to know the growth behavior of cotton production over the years. The contribution of area and productivity towards cotton production was measured by decomposing the cotton production series. The method proposed by Minhas and Vidhyanathan and reframed by Sharma was employed. The compound growth rate was estimated on the basis of fit using non-linear model i.e. exponential. The fitted equation was estimated using marquardt algorithms. Cuddy-Della Valle instability index was employed to estimate the instability in area, production and yield of cotton. The analysis was carried out using SAS macro available on IASRI web site with the help of SAS 9.3 software. Results revealed that, area, production and productivity of cotton were increased significantly after the introduction of Bt hybrids technology. The enhancement in productivity of cotton after the adoption of Bt hybrids technology by farmers was associated with the moderate instability. The productivity of cotton was moderately fluctuating from one year to another year. These fluctuations were also seen in cotton production. Bt cotton hybrids improved the yield and production and in some extent were also responsible for area expansion but the yield and production performance of cotton after the introduction of Bt was not stable. Enhancement in yield was the major factor responsible for improvement in cotton production in Maharashtra state compared to area.