ROLE OF SEED ON FUTURE POTATO PRODUCTION IN GUJARAT

Abstract

Gujarat holds first position in potato
productivity having 30.64 tons/ha as
compared to national average of 23.67 tons/
ha in 2019-2020 (Panigrahy and Kalamkar,
2021). The Western region of India contributes
14.47 percent to national potato production,
in which Gujarat accounts for 51.27 percent
(GOI, 2017). Starting from infrastructural
development (cold storage, logistics) to
setting up many processing organizations,
this state represents itself as a model in
national spheres that pave a way towards
potato business ecosystem. Despite all the
rosy pictures and facts in favour of potato
production of the state, cost of production has
been increasing which is a matter of concern
for many. It was observed that seed impacted
maximum in cost of potato production
(Pandey et al., 2018) and Gujarat has the
natural disadvantages being not fit to produce
seeds due to its warmer climatic condition
(Rana et al., 2012). As a result, producers
depend on other states for quality seed that
escalates the cost of potato production. Seed
is biological in origin and thus requires a
specific temperature and humidity to be
kept in cold storage.