Comparative economics of seed production vis - à - vis grain production of pigeonpea in Karnataka, India

The present study was based on primary data collected for 100 farmers from Gulbarga district of Karnataka during the agricultural year 2013-14. Tabular and discriminant function analysis was used in the present study. The analysis of data shows that the total cost of cultivation in pigeonpea seed production was around 23 per cent higher than grain production. The variable cost was comparatively higher in seed production (26936 per ha) over grain production (20698 per ha). The gross return was about 32 per cent higher in seed production than grain production and net return from seed production of pigeonpea was 44 per cent higher than grain production. The discriminant analysis indicated that gross return with 55.88 per cent followed by seed (18.52 per cent), human labour (8.35 per cent), manures and fertilizers (7.01per cent), bullock and machine labour (5.99 per cent), plant protection chemicals (4.26 per cent) contributed to discriminate between the seed and grain production of pigeonpea. The net return from pigeonpea seed production was encouraging, therefore the area under seed production may be increased for higher profitability and timely supply of quality seed to the farmers.