Input and Output Gap Analysis of Cotton in Western Maharashtra

The sutdy has estimated per hectare resource use, cost of cultivation, factors responsible for yield gap and constraints in cotton cultivation in western Maharashtra based on the secondary data for the year 2006–07. The study has revealed that per hectare use of all the inputs for cotton were below the recommendations. The proportionate gap between the recommended and use levels was maximum for manures (78%), followed by potash (72%), nitrogen (48%) and phosphorus (39%). The return from each rupee spent on cotton production was 1.15. The nine resource variables, viz. human labour, bullock labour, manures, nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, irrigation charges, plant protection chemicals and other working capital included in the production function analysis of cotton have jointly explained 74 per cent variations in the yield gap. The regression coefficients for human labour, manures and nitrogen have been found negative and significant at 1 per cent level of significance, while the coefficients for phosphorus and plant protection chemical were negative and significant at 10 per cent level of significance. These positive and significant coefficients indicated that one unit increase in the use of human labour, manures, nitrogen, phosphorus and plant protection chemicals will minimize the gap by 0.35 per cent, 0.34 per cent, 0.81 per cent, 0.73 per cent and 0.67 per cent, respectively.