Economics of fertilizer practices
Economic feasibility of the fertilizer practices is an essential element of improving
crop productivity (Kadian et al., 1981). Very often the farming is based on sound
economics and the farmers generally adopts only those improved practices or
innovations, which are more paying and easily workable. Presently, price is the only
index for the farmers to decide about their production plans as no other guidelines or
production policies are available to him. If the market prices are higher in a particular
year, than there is tendency on the part of the growers to bring more area under sugarcane
during the next year which generally results in over production. The sugarcane
production is, therefore, marked with serious alternate gluts in the markets and so the
profitability aspect of each fertilizer practice was also studied. On the basis of current
market prices of fertilizer and the farm gate prices of the sugarcane, the obtainable
incomes from the additional yields were worked out. Table 4 reflects the comparative
economics of different fertilizer levels used in the present experiment.
Evidently, there could be no additional income from the control plot, which did not
receive any fertilizers. The calculated value cost ratio from different fertilizer
applications varied between 5.78 to 10.36 which is fully in accordance with the
prevailing prices. Treatment 3 (200 N:120 P2O5:150 K2O) significantly out-yielded
control and gave comparatively higher value cost ratio than the other treatments (Table
4). All the fertilizer levels were found highly profitable over the control. This shows that
the use of fertilizers in balanced amount will always remain profitable for the sugarcane
growers. The existing profitability levels can considerably be improved with the use of
NPK fertilizers in balanced amount.
Sugar yield per unit area can be increased only, if there is simultaneous increase in
the production of sugarcane and the recovery of sugar. There is lack of improved high
yielding sugarcane varieties and absence of mechanisms to carry out the package of
technology and inputs to the farmers. The share of improved variety in the enhancement
of cane yield and sugar recovery is about 20-25%, while rest is contributed by production
technology (Javed et al., 2001). Since the increase in cane and sugar yield in our country
has mainly been due to an increase in the acreage (Hashmi, 1995), therefore, the
evolution of high yielding clones and good production technology is urgently needed,
which could definitly increase the cane and sugar yield per unit area.