Yield Gaps and Economic Analysis of Gram (Cicer arietinum) Cultivation in South-Western Punjab, India

Gram (Cicer arietium) is a major winter season pulse crop grown in India. The front line demonstrations (FLDs) of improved varieties of gram (var. PBG 7 and GPF 2) were conducted to investigate the yield potential and economics of gram cultivation during three consecutive years (2017-19) at farmer’s fields in Bathinda district in south-western Punjab. These results showed that average grain yield of gram in FLD plots was ~8.7-14.5% higher than the farmer’s practice (FP) during different years. The average production efficiency of 9.3-11.5 kg ha^-1 day^-1 in the FLD plots was higher compared with the FP plots (8.3-10.6 kg ha^-1 day^-1). The demonstration of improved gram variety (FLD plots) leads to higher average gross and net returns than the FP. The FLD plots showed higher average B:C ratio (3.11-4.01), compared with the FP plots (2.80-3.83). These results showed the existence of yield gaps of 4.20-4.90 q ha^-1 for PBG 7, when compared with the crop’ yield potential. The extension gap of 1.5-2.0 q ha^-1 emphasized that there is a need of more intensified extension efforts to educate the farmers regarding adoption of component technologies for yield maximization and increased economic returns.