Effect of Socio-Economic Characteristics on Kesar Mango Productivity in Marathawada Region of Maharashtra

Fruit crops cultivation gives better yield and more money as compared to field crops from the same piece of land. Some of the horticultural products fetch foreign exchange. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) known as ‘king of fruits.’, Mango fruit is utilized at all stages of its development both in its immature and mature state. Maharashtra state is an important mango growing state in India. The main strength of the Maharashtra state lies in the cultivation of the popular exportable varieties e.g. Alphonso, Banganpalli, Kesar, etc., with substantial production and significant share in mango export. Alphonso & Kesar are the major commercially varieties grown in Maharashtra. Multistage sampling design was used in selection of kesar mango growers. Cross sectional data were collected from the sampled kesar mango growers by personal interview method with the help of pre-tested schedule. The data pertained for the year 2010-11.Based on goodness of fit (R2), linear regression function was used for estimation of relationship between socio-economic characteristics and productivity of kesar mango. The value of R2 was 0.71 which indicated that 71 per cent of variation in kesar mango productivity was due to socio-economic factors together. It was observed that, partial regression coefficients with respect to land holding were positives and significant at 1 per cent level of significance. ‘F’-value was significant (2.54).‘F’-value was significant. It was clear that, each explanatory variable on its own was not very important but together they significantly explained part of variation in kesar mango productivity.