POTATO SEED REPLACEMENT IN WEST BENGAL

Abstract

The seed potato gets degenerated quickly due to infection of viruses if produced without following the proper seed plot technique. Therefore, it is recommended to replace the seed potato in every 3-4 years to avoid the progressive reduction in yield of the crop. The present study was undertaken to examine the sources of seed potato and its replacement rate for the crop in the state of West Bengal, which is one of the major potatoes growing state of the country and largely depends on other states for its seed potato requirement. Using multistage random sampling technique 60 farmers were selected for the study. The primary data pertaining to the agricultural year 2001-02 were collected by personal interview method with the help of pre-designed schedules. The selected falDlers were laffer stratified into four strata on the basis of their operational land holding size. The major sources of seed on sample households was found to be self retained seeds of previous year crop (50.57 per cent) followed by seeds purchased from village traders/local traders (38.83 per cent), who in turn were purchasing seed potato mainly from Punjab state. about 9.5 per cent of seed requirement of the sample households were met through the Govt. agencies. The SRR was found to be only 9.5 per cent in case of certified seed against the recommendation of more than 25 percent. The. SRR for quality seed was found to be 38.83 percent, which is quite good and may be contributing for the highest average yield of potato in the country.