Sustainable Fruit Growing: An Analysis of Differences in Apple Productivity in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir

Zahoor Ahmad Shah (), Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, Eajaz Ahmad Dar, Chukwujekwu A. Obianefo, Arif Hussain Bhat, Mohammed Tauseef Ali, Mohamed El-Sharnouby, Mustafa Shukry, Hosny Kesba and Samy Sayed ()
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Zahoor Ahmad Shah: Department of Agri Extension and Communication, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Mushtaq Ahmad Dar: Division of Agricultural Extension and Communication, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Eajaz Ahmad Dar: Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ganderbal, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Chukwujekwu A. Obianefo: Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Awka P.M.B 5025, Nigeria
Arif Hussain Bhat: Division of Plant Pathology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Mohammed Tauseef Ali: Division of Fruit Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Mohamed El-Sharnouby: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Mustafa Shukry: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt
Hosny Kesba: Zoology and Agricultural Nematology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
Samy Sayed: Department of Science and Technology, University College-Ranyah, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-24

Abstract: Apple is considered as an important fruit crop in temperate regions of the world including India. It is one of the major fruit crops, with a considerable area under cultivation throughout the world and a large associated population. Despite this, the productivity of this important fruit is not up to the expected standard. To gain a practical understanding of the low productivity of apple fruit and its probable causes, a study was undertaken to analyze productivity differentials and their determinants to enable sustainable cultivation. A multistage sampling procedure was adopted to select districts, horticultural zones, and villages, and data were collected from randomly selected apple growers (300). The collected data were empirically analyzed with simple descriptive statistics, logistic regression, polynomial plots, and inferential statistics such as t-tests. The results indicated that apple yields followed a sigmoidal pattern, with the average yield per hectare for the current season as 9.43 t/ha, which depends on experience, education, annual income, and the adoption rate of apple growers. This yield average was significantly lower than the yield of the previous season at a probability level of 1%. To determine the root cause of low productivity, different constraints were studied, creating yield disparities in different quarters; hence, their percentage and value contributions (socioeconomic 11.1%, credit 4.2%, pests and diseases 0.05%, technology 0.9%, extension 2.0%, and market 3.5%) were also established in the study. The study will be of great interest to the relevant authorities in the study area, and the areas globally having similar congenial agro-climatic conditions, who are seeking to address the issues raised in this study through sustainable policy decisions. The different constraints that were the fundamental reasons for low productivity and that prevented the apple growers from adopting innovative techniques/improved practices to increase their yields need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Keywords: apple; constraints; differentials; growers; practices; productivity; yield gap (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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