Sustaining Sugarcane Production in Western Zone of Tamil Nadu

M. Malarkodi; K. Bharathi; A. Janakirani

Sustaining Sugarcane Production in Western Zone of Tamil Nadu

M. Malarkodi ¹, K. Bharathi ², A. Janakirani ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (T.N.), India
2 Department ofAgricultural Economics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (T.N.), India
3 Department of Agricultural Extension, Tapioca and Castor Research Station, Yetahapur, Salem (T.N.), India

Tamil Nadu is one of the major cane growing states in India. Sugarcane productivity was 126.66 t/ha in safe and semi-critical areas while it was 123.72 t/ha in critical and over exploited blocks in the Western Zone. The total cost of cultivation (variable cost) was Rs.79272 per ha in critical and over exploited blocks whereas it was only Rs.75802 per ha in safe and semi-critical blocks. Strategy to maintain or increase the current Western Zone cane production can be done by continuation of sugarcane production only in the safe and semi-critical blocks (13 blocks) and expansion of the sugarcane area in safe and semi-critical blocks, which presently has minimum area under sugarcane cultivation.