Assessing Unrealized Yield Potential of Maize Producing Districts in India

The projected demand of maize production in India in 2050 is 4–5 times of current production. With the scope for area expansion being limited, there is need for enhancement of yield. This calls for identifying areas where huge unrealized yield potential exists. With a view to address the issue, the present study delineates homogeneous agro-climatic zones for maize production system in India taking district as a unit and using the factors production, viz. climate, soil, season and irrigated area under the crop. There are 146 districts in India that grow maize as a major crop. They were divided into 26 zones using multivariate cluster analysis. Study of variation in yield between districts within a zone vis-a-vis crop management practices adopted in those districts was found useful in targeting the yield gaps. These findings can have direct relevance to the maize farmers and district level administrators.