Impact of integrated crop management (ICM) technology on production and profitability of capsicum under protected and field condition of Uttarakhand

Abstract

Farmer participatory field trials were conducted for assessing the effects of an Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technology for the management of major pests of capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.). The experiment was conducted during two consecutive years 2020 and 2021 at Matela village of Almora district in Uttarakhand. The trial was based on comparative analysis among Open field, Poly house and farmer's field conditions which serve as control. The total treatments were eight with three replications conducted under different conditions i.e. Polyhouse (Indra, Radha, Kaveri), open field (Indra, Radha, Kaveri), farmer's polyhouse (California Wonder) and farmer's field condition (California Wonder). Among all the conditions, T1 (Polyhouse + Indra) performed very well and gave best response in terms of yield and net income. The yield was maximum under polyhouse condition for T1 (795 q/ha) whereas in Farmer's polyhouse (T7), it was 346 q/ha. In open field conditions highest yield was recorded in T4 (152 q/ha) and minimum in T8 (118 q/ha). Net return was highest in T1 (Rs. 27.41 lacs/ha) and minimum in T7 (Rs. 13.27 lacs/ha) under farmer's poly house. The Net return calculated in various treatments in open and farmer's field indicated that T4 exhibited maximum Net return i.e. Rs. 3.90 lacs/ha whereas minimum return in T8 (Rs. 3.20 lacs/ha). B:C ratio lies in between 3.92 to 4.27 under polyhouse condition and 2.76 to 2.80 in open field conditions. The findings of above study revealed that in prevailing agroclimatic conditions of Uttarakhand, capsicum cultivation has vast scope in terms of production and profitability. Among all the varieties Indra is the best suited variety for Uttarakhand hills.