1 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patanacheru, Andhra Pradesh.
2 National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi.
* This articlc was approved as ICRISAT Journal Article No. JA2263, Thanks are due to C. Ramaswamy and Ade Freeman for their comments on an earlier draft. Usual disclaimer apply
The nature and extent of growth and variability in sorghum yield is measured in this study to test the hypothesis that rapid technological change increased yield and also instability in sorghum production. Analysis is being based on 146 major sorghum producing districts of India. Annual compound growth rate of sorghum yields for different districts were computed for various periods between 1966 and 1993. Expansion of modern sorghum cultivars positively contributed to the sorghum yield. The coefficient of variation of sorghum yields was estimated for the same districts and from the same set of data after detrending. Analysis showed a general decline in yield variability over time. The coefficient of variation in sorghum yield decreases with the increase in proportion of modern sorghum cultivars. Relative variability of sorghum yield of modern sorghum cultivars, estimated from the experimental data for the period 1982–96, is less than the relative variability of other sorghum cultivars. The study concludes that modern sorghum cultivars contrihuted to the increase in yield and reduction in relative variability in yield and thereby, enhanced food security in India. It also suggests that future sorghum research in India should be emphasized on yield enhancement rather than on yield stabilization.
