Assessment of Trend in Area, Production and Productivity of Potato in Hassan District of Karnataka, India

The present analysis was undertaken to estimate the growth and instability of area, production and productivity of potato in Hassan district and Karnataka state. Potato in Hassan District is primarily grown in the Kharif season under rainfed conditions. Hassan district is the major potato growing district with the total area of 9995 ha and production of 68921 tonnes with the productivity of 6.89 t/ha. (Anonymous, 2023). The Compound Annual Growth rate and Cuddy Della Vella Index was used to estimate growth of instability of Potato. The secondary data on the area, production and productivity of potatoes in Karnataka was collected from 2013 to 2022. While data specific to the Hassan district was gathered from 2001 to 2023. The area and production of potato in Karnataka showed a significant negative compound growth rate of 5.96 per cent and 3.0 per cent per annum respectively, while productivity exhibited a positive compound growth rate of 3.14 per cent per annum. The growth rate of area under potato in the Hassan district was declined at a rate of 8.88 per cent per annum, Further, the growth rates of production and productivity showed a decreased at rate of 8.95 per cent per annum and 0.94 per cent per annum respectively. The negative growth rates in area and production of potato may be attributed by the unavailability of quality potato seed tubers, limited availability of irrigation facilities, susceptibility to diseases and pests, limited market access and price fluctuations, and adverse climatic conditions. To increase productivity, farmers need to adopt quality potato seed tubers as well as high yielding varieties which are resistant to pest and diseases combined with proper irrigation facilities.