Commercial nursery management in Arecanut: An economic analysis

The study was undertaken to assess the profitability of commercial arecanut nurseries in malnad and maidan regions of Karnataka. Five commercial nurseries located in these regions were selected for the purpose of study. It has been found that arecanut nurseries on 7000 sq. ft. sufficient for raising 12000 arecanut seedlings generate net returns of Rs. 1, 61,375 over a period of 15 months. The cost of raising seedlings inclusive of labour and material costs came to Rs. 1, 38,625. The cost of raising one seedling worked out to Rs. 11.55. Each seedling earns a net return of Rs.13.45 to the nursery owner. The benefit cost ratio of 2.16:1 indicated higher profitability on investment in nursery. The major constraints confronting commercial nurseries included low germination percentage, incidence of mites, unorganized marketing facility and non-availability of timely labour.