A Study on Gladiolus Cultivation in Assam

Commercial cultivation of flowers is a new venture in Assam. The present study pertains to cost, returns, marketing margin and price spread of Gladiolus flowers and is based on the data collected from the selected 16 Gladiolus growers from Kamrup and Nalbari districts of Assam. The study revealed that larger the farm size, higher is the cost of cultivation. The benefit cost ratio has been found to be 2.06 for marginal and 3.06 for small farms. The producer's share in consumer's rupee was found to be 49.8 per cent in Channel I and 25 per cent in Channel II. Hence marketing Channel I has been found to be more profitable than Channel II. The study has concluded that Gladiolus cultivation is a capital-intensive business and hence government should provide economic support to these farmers as a measure to increase their income in the hilly state Assam.