Economic analysis of adoption of recommended technologies for mrig bahar orange production in Nagpur district

Introduction

Oranges (Citrus reticulata) are grown extensively in regions like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Assam, making India one of the world's top producers of the fruit. Almost two-thirds of the world's citrus fruits are orange, making it the most prevalent. Orange is produced in two significant bahars. Bahar treatment is the process of giving orange gardens water stress so they can produce fruits. Mrig bahar, thus, refers to the application of water to the garden throughout the months of April and May, with blossoming taking place during the months of June and July. Fruits can be harvested between February and March. Ambe bahar, which translates to "water stretch treatment," is applied to the garden between November and December. Because of its ideal climate, the Nagpur area of Maharashtra is well renowned for producing oranges. Understanding the crops profitability is essential. The current investigation has been conducted with the aforementioned factor in mind. In the year 2024-25 area under orange cultivation in Maharashtra state is 145.85 thousand hectares with annual production 1396.62 thousand metric tonnes and productivity accounting to 9.58 metric tonnes per hectare. (Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2024-25) The study was undertaken with the following objectives: 1. To examine the extent of adoption of production technologies in orange for mrig bahar production 2. To estimate cost and returns at the level of adoption of technologies in orange for mrig bahar production

Methodology

The study was conducted in the Nagpur district, primary data was gathered from three tehsils (Katol, Kalmeshwar, and Saoner). From each tehsil, four villages were selected randomly, and from each village, ten orange farmers were selected randomly. Hence a total, 120 orange farmers were selected for the study. To accomplish the objectives, primary data was obtained from the farmers of mrig bahar orange during the season by preparing specially designed schedule. The data pertained to mrig bahar orange for the year 2025-26.

Analytical Methods

Extent of adoption of recommended production technologies

It was performed by Total adoption Index. Actual level of adoption by farmers were identified with the help of recommended technologies developed by Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. Following formula was used to calculate Total Adoption Index Nitrogen -900 gram per plant v.

Phosphorus -300 gram per plant vi.

Potassium -300 gram per plant vii.

VAM -500 gram per plant viii.

Phosphorus soluble bacteria -100 gram per plant ix.

Azospirillium -100 gram per plant x.

Trichoderma -100 gram per plant xi.

While giving fertilizers, cow dung + half of amount of nitrogen +full amount of phosphorus and potassium as well as bacterial fertilizers and nutrients (mix with cow dung) should be given during the mrig bahar when the water stress is received. The remaining half of amount of nitrogen should be given when fruits are size of peas

Cost and returns at the level of adoption of technologies

For working out the cost and returns of orange, the cost of cultivation were worked out by using standard cost concepts i.e.

Conclusion

The investigation concluded that the application of recommended technologies in orange cultivation yielded favorable returns for the sampled farmers. Consequently, the output-input ratios at Cost-C1, C2, and C3 levels at the overall level were determined to be 1:2.49, 1:1.76, and 1:1.60, respectively, indicating that orange cultivation was more profitable in the high level of adoption category compared to the low and medium categories. However orange crop was profitable at cost A1 with output-input ratio 1:3.42. Similarly output-input ratio at cost B1 and B2 at overall level were 2.67 and 1.85 respectively indicating its profitability when family labour was not considered. The study concluded that as technology adoption increased, the output-input ratio also showed an upward trend. The economic analysis of orange production in the study area strongly suggested that cultivating orange through the adoption of recommended technologies was a financially viable and profitable endeavor.

References

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