Growth of area, production and productivity of banana (Musa Paradisiaca) cultivation in Theni district, Tamil Nadu – An analysis by component elements

Banana called as the “fruit of the wise men” is an important fruit crop cultivated widely and consumed by the majority of the population in India as well as in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of banana in India. In Tamil Nadu, Theni District holds first position in area under cultivation of banana followed by Coimbatore, Erode and Tuticorin districts. The study was under taken to study the rate of growth of area, production and productivity of banana cultivation in Theni District, Tamil Nadu and to compute the relative contribution of area, yield and their interaction to the change in production of banana cultivation. The results of this study revealed that the yield effect (25%) had significant contribution in Tamil Nadu and area effect (59.46%) had significant contribution in the state as a whole in increasing the production of banana cultivation. In Theni district, it reveals that the yield effect (26.08%) had significant contribution and area effect (39.20%) had significant contribution in the district as whole in increasing the production of banana cultivation. Therefore, keeping the area as constant the productivity of horticultural crops can be further increased by taking appropriate production technologies.