Cropping Pattern of Palakkad District, Kerala, India

CROPPING PATTERN OF PALAKKAD DISTRICT, KERALA, INDIA

1Lekshmi.G.S, 2 E. Saravanan and 3P.K. Shaji 1Research Fellow, 2Emeritus Scientist, 3Research Scientist 1Environmental Resources Research Centre, , N.C.C Road, Peroorkada.P.O, 1Thiruvananthapuram-695005, Kerala, India

Abstract: Agriculture is the major primary activity of Kerala. Palakkad, the largest district in Kerala is basically agrarian in nature. This district leads first in the production of almost all types of food crops and cash crops in the state. The present study is based on secondary data collected from Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Palakkad district. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study cropping patterns like crop combination, crop diversification and crop concentration of the Palakkad district. This study also reveals crop conditions of the district. Proper statistical techniques and Arc Gis software 9.3 version was used to prepare different thematic maps.

Key words: Crop Combination, Crop Diversification, Crop Concentration

I. INTRODUCTION

Agriculture is one of the most important constituent of man’s primary occupations and forms the first vital link of human interaction with his environment. Cropping pattern means the production of area under various crops at a point of time. It is a spatial temporal concept as it changes from time to time and space to space. The purpose of such studies is to analyze the cropping patterns of an area on regional basis with a view to bring out their areal concentration. This problem has gained much attention to geographers and agricultural land-use planners in recent years. Cropping pattern of a region is very much influenced by geographical, climatic, social and economic factors. Studies of crop combination, crop diversification and crop concentration provides a good basis for agricultural regionalization. The importance of the study of cropping pattern can therefore, for the agricultural planners cannot be over emphasized.

II. STUDY AREA

Palakkad district is located between 10020’ to 11014’N latitude and 76002’ to 76054’E longitude. Physiographic divisions of Palakkad district include midland and highland. Within these diverse physiographic settings the total cultivated area in the district occupies 49% of the total geographical area. The district has 13 blocks. The district has a tropical climate with an oppressive hot season and fairly assured seasonal rainfall. The temperature of this district ranges between 190C to 420C and rainfall differs from 2920mms. to1794mms. Bharathapuzha is the major river flowing in this district. A unique feature of the highland is Palakkad Gap which has its great impact on agro climatic conditions of the region. Much of the areas in the midlands are more or less plain which are very fertile for cultivation. Hence the district is known as the “Granary of Kerala”. The major cultivated crops in this district are paddy, coconut, tapioca, fruits, spices, vegetables etc… Majority of the people in this district are engaged in agriculture and its allied sector.

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fig.1: study area

III. OBJECTIVES

The major objectives of this study are:

 To find out crop diversification of the district.  To find out crop combination of the district.  To find out crop concentration of the district.

IV. METHODOLOGY

The present study is based on secondary data. The statistical data has been collected from Department of Economics and Statistics, Palakkad for the years 2011-2016. The base map of study area was prepared from Survey of India Toposheets. Block has been taken as the unit of study. Standard statistical techniques were used. Major crops were selected to study the cropping pattern of the district. Bhatia’s formula was used to find out crop diversification. To assess crop combination, Rafiullah’s method was used. To calculate crop concentration, Bhatia’s technique was used. ArcGis 9.3 version was used to prepare various thematic maps.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1 CROP DIVERSIFICATION

Crop diversification refers to raising of different types of crops. It shows contemporary competition among crops for an area. Crop diversification has an important role in agricultural and land use planning. In

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1965, Bhatia introduced crop diversification technique in order to understand crop competition in an area. In this study, Bhatia’s formula was used to calculate crop diversification.

Index of Crop Diversification = Percentage of Net Sown Area

Number of ‘n’ crop where – ‘n’ crops are those which individually occupy ten or more than ten percent of crop to net sown area in the tahsils. In this method, higher the value of the diversification index and lower the degree of crop diversification and vice versa.

table 5.1: crop diversification of palakkad district

Sl.No. Blocks Total Area in Number of Crop cropped Percentage Crops Diversification Area Index

1 Alathur 22136.1 9.79 3 3.26

2 Attapady 33192.9 14.68 3 4.89

3 Chittur 24095.5 10.66 2 5.33

4 Kollengode 18559.6 8.21 2 4.10

5 Kuzhalamannam 21801.8 9.64 2 4.82

6 Malampuzha 11398.6 5.10 2 2.55

7 Mannarkkad 18483.8 8.18 3 2.72

8 Nenmara 17446.5 7.72 2 3.86

9 Ottapalam 14302.4 6.32 3 2.10

10 Palakkad 10130.4 4.48 3 1.49

11 Pattambi 10987.5 4.86 3 1.62

12 Sreekrishnapuram 12298.1 5.44 4 1.36

13 Thrithala 11123 4.92 4 1.23

District Total 225956 100

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fig. 2: crop diversification regions

High diversity of crops are seen in Palakkad, Pattambi, Srikrishnapuram and Thrithala blocks. Medium crop diversity is found in the blocks of Alathur, Malampuzha, Mannarkkad, Nenmara and Ottapalam. Low diversity of crops is found in Attapady, Chittur, Kollengode and Kuzhalmannam blocks.

5.2 Crop Combination

Crop combination studies helps to get an idea of agricultural scenario of a region. Many geographers applied different types of crop combination techniques in different parts of the world. In this study, Rafiullah’s (1965) “Maximum Positive Deviation Method” was applied.

where d is the deviation, Dp is the positive difference, Dn is the negative difference from the median value of the theoretical curve value of the combination, and N is the number of crops.

Rafiullah’s Maximum Positive Deviation Method helps to avoid insignificant crops from the combination. An accurate and scientific crop combination was derived by using this method. Major crops like rice, coconut, fruits, spices, tapioca, vegetables etc… were considered for crop combination analysis in the present study.

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table 5.2: crop combination of palakkad district

Sl.No. Block Crop Combination Name of crops

1 Alathur 2 Crop Combination Rice and Coconut

2 Attapady 3 Crop Combination Fruits, Coconut and Spices

3 Chittur 3 Crop Combination Rice, Coconut and Fruits

4 Kollengode 2 Crop Combination Rice and Coconut

5 Kuzhalamannam 1 Crop Combination Rice

6 Malampuzha 3 Crop Combination Rice, Coconut and Fruits

7 Mannarkkad 2 Crop Combination Coconut and Fruits

8 Nenmara 2 Crop Combination Rice and Coconut

9 Ottapalam 3 Crop Combination Coconut, Fruits and Rice

10 Palakkad 2 Crop Combination Rice and Coconut

11 Pattambi 3 Crop Combination Coconut, Fruits and Rice

12 Sreekrishnapuram 3 Crop Combination Fruits, Coconut and Rice

13 Thrithala 3 Crop Combination Coconut, Rice and Fruits

fig. 3: crop combination regions

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The results derived from Rafiullah’s method shows that Palakkad district has monocrop, two crop and three crop combinations. Kuzhalmannam is the only block is having monocrop, which is rice. Alathur, Nenmara, Kollengode, Mannarkkad and Palakkad blocks are having two crop combinations. Attapady, Chittur, Malampuzha, Ottapalam, Pattambi, Sreekrishnapuram and Thrithala blocks are having three crop combinations.

5.3 Crop Concentration

Crop concentration means the variations in the density of any crop in a given area or region at a given point of time. Higher the concentration index, the higher will be the level of interest in the production of that crop. The concept of crop concentration provides an accurate measure of the spatial distribution of crops. It helps to understand the areas where a particular crop grows well with minimum inputs and which area needs crop rotation. In this study the quotient method by Bhatia (1965) has been applied.

Concentration index of x crop = Area of ‘x’ Crop in a component aerial unit

------

Area of all crops in a component aerial unit

------

Area of ‘x’ Crop in entire region

------

Area of all crops in entire region

In the present study, major crops like crop concentration of rice, coconut, spices, fruits, tapioca and vegetables were calculated. The results were shown below.

table 5.3: crop concentration of palakkad district

Blocks Rice Coconut Spices Fruits Tapioca Vegetables Sl.No

1 Alathur 1.45 0.75 0.86 0.55 1.95 0.64

2 Attapady 0.0004 0.99 1.64 2.31 1.4 1.42

3 Chittur 1.16 1.32 0.37 0.46 1.23 1.65

4 Kollengode 1.76 0.74 0.37 0.5 0.08 0.52

5 Kuzhalmannam 2.09 0.4 0.52 0.28 0.41 0.36

6 Malampuzha 1.24 1.1 0.47 0.44 0.32 1.26

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7 Mannarkkad 0.05 1.57 2.34 1.43 1.84 1.1

8 Nenmara 1.76 0.58 0.63 0.36 0.7 1.26

9 Ottapalam 0.66 1.13 0.98 1.34 0.73 0.83

10 Palakkad 1.39 0.79 0.74 0.7 0.4 0.8

11 Pattambi 0.58 1.36 0.9 1.18 1.31 0.86

12 Sreekrishnapuram 0.36 1.11 1.39 1.77 1.23 1.07

13 Thrithala 0.58 1.44 1.59 0.96 0.51 0.62

5.3.1 Rice

Large concentration of rice is found in Kuzhalmannam block with 2.09. Medium rice concentration is seen in the blocks of Palakkad, Malampuzha, Alathur, Chittur, Nenmara and Kollengode. Rests of the blocks are having low rice concentration.

5.3.2 Coconut

High coconut concentration is seen in the blocks of Mannarkkad, Chittur, Pattambi and Thrithala. Low coconut concentration is found in Kuzhalmannam and Nenmara blocks. Rest of the blocks has medium concentration of coconut.

5.3.3 Fruits

High concentration of fruits is found in Attapady block with 2.31. Medium concentrations of fruits are found in the blocks of Mannarkkad, Sreekrishnapuram, Ottapalam and Pattambi. Remaining blocks are having low fruits concentration.

5.3.4 Spices

Large concentration of spices is seen in Mannarkkad block with 2.34. Medium spice concentration is found in Attapady, Sreekrishnapuram and Thrithala blocks. Rest of the blocks has low spices concentration.

5.3.5 Tapioca

Large concentration of tapioca is seen in Alathur and Mannarkkad blocks. Medium tapioca concentration is found in the blocks of Attapady, Chittur, Pattambi and Sreekrishnapuram. Rests of the blocks are having low tapioca concentration.

5.3.6 Vegetables

High concentrations of vegetables are found in Attapady, Chittur, Malampuzha and Nenmara blocks. Less concentration of vegetables is seen in Kollengode and Kuzhalmannam blocks. Remaining blocks have low concentration of vegetables.

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fig.4: crop concentration of rice fig.5: crop concentration of coconut

fig 6: crop concentration of fruits fig7: crop concentration of spices

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fig.7: crop concentration of tapioca fig.8: crop concentration of vegetables

CONCLUSION

The present study has revealed about the cropping pattern of the Palakkad district. The blocks characterized with low crop combination and less crop diversification need special attention to raise their productivity. Therefore, proper planning is essential for the implementation of agricultural development in the district.

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