Growth and Instability in Rainfed Maize in Karnataka

The paper has assessed the growth and instability in area, production and productivity of rainfed maize in Karnataka using exponential growth model, instability index and Hazell's decomposition model. A significant growth has been observed in both area (8.34%) and production (7.45%) of rainfed maize in Karnataka. Human and bullock labour and FYM application have been found to be decreased, whereas expenditure on chemical fertilizer and seed has increased significantly. The change in mean and variance of maize production is largely influenced by its area, indicating that growth in rainfed maize in Karnataka is area-led growth. The area expansion being limited, the study has suggested that appropriate varieties and hybrids of maize should be evolved to achieve higher productivity levels.