A Study on the Productivity of Potato in Hugli District, West Bengal, India

In spite of its industrial importance, Hugli is one of the leading potato producing districts of West Bengal with momentous productivity. But the productivity has shown considerable variation in its quantity, yield per unit of land and area under the crop over the last few decades. The present study strives to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics, emphasizing on trend, growth and variability as well as inter-Block variations in potato productivity of Hugli District from 1990-91 to 2013-14. The study was primarily based on the secondary data obtained from various sources. Time series analysis (3 year moving average curve), Coppock’s Instability Index and Sahu’s Simple Achieved Variation have been used to analyze the trend, instability and sustainability of the productivity, whereas, Crop Yield and Concentration Indices Ranking Coefficient is employed to identify productivity regions of potato. The result has revealed a unique oscillating nature in area, yield and output over the study period. The area and the output of the crop have been increased almost 51.70% [Exponential R2= 0.751] and 32.75% [Exponential R2= 0.381] respectively, whereas the yield rate has shown an insignificant positive trend of growth [Exponential R2= 0.014] during the same period. The Blocks have also revealed wide inter-disparity in productivity during the phase with considerable degree of instability and sustainability.