A study on the yield gap analysis of rubber cultivation in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu

The present study was conducted to analyse the yield gap in rubber cultivation in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu since the district stands first in the area cultivated under rubber in the state. In this district, Thiruvattar block was selected based on the maximum area under rubber cultivation. The sample size of 150 respondents was taken from the six villages of Thiruvattar block by using proportionate random sampling method. A well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule was used for data collection. In this study yield gap II ie the difference between potential farm yield and actual farm yield was analysed as 34.80 per cent. Majority of the respondents (76.00%) had a yield gap of 21–30 per cent followed by 16.67 per cent who had 10–20 per cent of yield gap and 7.33 per cent of the respondents had a yield gap of more than 30 per cent. Majority of the respondents (74.67%) perceived non-availability of labour for doing recommended practices as the major reason for yield gap followed by perceived insect damage (65.33%), diseases (61.33%), high temperature (60.67%), poor rainfall (58.67%) and reduction in number of rainy days (58.67%) as the reasons for yield gap. Less than half of the respondents perceived soil erosion (48.00%), lack of drainage facility (48.00%), high cost of labour (41.33%), excess rainfall (26.67%), lack of knowledge on recommended practices (20.00%) and erratic rainfall (14.67%) as the reasons for yield gap.