Economics of Yield and Production of Alkaloid of Withania somnifera ( L . ) Dunal

The yield parameters and cost economics of Withania somnifera were studied using Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) treatments. Withania somnifera is cultivated in around 10,780 ha with a production of 8429 tones in India. The annual demand of this herb increased from 7028 tones (2001-2002) to 9127 tones (2004-2005). The field experiment was conducted at the research farm of Department of Plant Physiology, College of Agriculture, Jabalpur during Kharif season of 2008-2009 (1 year) and 2009-2010 (2 year), whereas the laboratory work was carried out in Quality Laboratory, College of Agriculture, Jabalpur. The soil of experimental field was sandy loam in texture with pH 7.5, EC 0.18 dsm having good drainage. Soil analysis revealed that available nitrogen was low (202.0 kg·ha) whereas available phosphorus (16.25 kg·ha) and potassium (236.0 kg·ha) were in the medium range. The present paper shows how to determine the economics of varying INM treatments. Cultivation of W. somnifera in India is gaining popularity among farmers; however, due to poor soil fertility, and costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides its production is not economical or profitable.


Introduction
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal commonly known as Ashwagandha is one of the important medicinal crops in Ayurvedic and an indigenous medicine for over 3000 years in India [1].The twenty three known Withania species are widely distributed in the drier parts of tropical and sub-tropical zones [2][3][4][5].The root of W. somnifera is a constituent of over 200 formulations in Ayruveda, Siddha and Unani medicines for the treatment of various physiological disorders [6].Among them, only two species: Withania somnifera and Withania coagulans are of economical and medicinal importance as they are used and cultivated in several regions [7][8][9].Withania somnifera is native of Mediterranean region in North Africa and is widely distributed in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey [10,11].It is found naturally in forests, particularly in drier regions of India which includes Foot hills of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and North western regions of Madhya Pradesh [1].
In India, Withania somnifera is cultivated in around 10,780 ha with a production of 8429 tones.The annual demand of this herb increased from 7028 tones (2001)(2002) to 9127 tones (2004)(2005).This 29.8% increase in the demand of Withania somnifera has led to an increase in area under its cultivation for higher production with good quality [12].In Madhya Pradesh, Withania somnifera is cultivated in over 4000 ha in the drier parts especially in Manasa, Neemuch and Jawad tehsils of Mandsaur District [8].
Cultivated Withania somnifera yielded better quality roots reported by Pandey and Patra [13].Among the several constraints, improper nutrient management is one of the factors responsible for the low productivity.Chemical fertilizers though played an important role to meet the nutritional demand of the crop, the continuous use of chemical fertilizers is reported to have deleterious effects on soil heath due to their ill effects on physical, chemical and biological properties of soil [14].However, the use of organic manures along with inorganic fertilizers not only improves physico-chemical and biological prop-erties of soil but also provides all the nutrients in available form to crop plants, which in turn enhances better growth and finally the yield and quality parameters of W. somnifera.Thus, there is an urgent need to formulate integrated nutrient management for increasing the productivity and production of W. somnifera.In the absence of sufficient and reliable scientific information of integrated use of organic and chemical fertilizers on cultivation of W. somnifera, farmers are forced to use chemical fertilizers.The Present paper shows how to determine the economics of varying integrated nutrient management treatments.In India, cultivation of W. somnifera is gaining popularity among farmers; however, due to poor soil fertility, and costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides its production is not economical or profitable.

Study Area
The study was performed during 2008-2010 in the Research Farm, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (JNKVV), Jabalpur, M.P. lies between 22˚49' to 24˚80' north latitude and 78˚21' to 80˚58' east longitude with an average altitude of 411.78 m asl.Jabalpur has a typical sub tropical climate with hot dry summers and cool dry winters.Temperature extremes vary from minimum temperatures of 2˚C in December-January months to maximum temperature of 46˚C in May-June months.Based on 30 years mean meteorological data, the average annual rainfall of the locality is 1315 mm, which mostly receives between mid June to end of September with an occasional winter showers during December and January months.The details of the material used and the methods adopted during the course of experiment are presented below.

Weather Conditions
The different weather parameters viz., temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, sun-shine and rainy days etc. of Jabalpur during two consecutive years (2008-2009 and 2009-2010)

Experimental Site
The field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm in the Dusty acres, Department of Plant Physiology, College of Agriculture, JNKVV, Jabalpur during Kharif season of 2008-2009 (1 st year) and 2009-2010 (2 nd year), whereas the laboratory work were carried out in the Quality Laboratory, College of Agriculture, Jabalpur.The soil of experimental field was sandy loam in texture with pH 7.5, EC 0.18 dsm −1 and having good drainage.Soil analysis revealed that available nitrogen was low (202.0kg•ha −1 ) whereas available phosphorus (16.25 kg•ha −1 ) and potassium (236.0 kg•ha −1 ) were in the medium range.The organic carbon in the soil was 0.30 per cent and Zn was 0.52 mg•kg Plant sampling: Five plants were randomly of selected from each plots.Sampling was done at a fixed interval of 30 days for bio-metrical and bio-chemical observations.The sampling was done at 30, 60, 90, 120 DAS and at the maturity stage of the crop.

Benefit-Cost Ratio
The benefit-cost ratio gives an indication of the monetary gain over one rupee invested under a particular treatment.This study is helpful to decide feasibility of the treatment for different economic groups of farmer.

Gross monetary returns Rs ha
The net monetary returns per hectare of the treatment and benefit cost ratio of the treatment were worked out on the basis of two years pooled data.

Ashwagandha-134
Jawahar Ashwagandha-134 has been released variety from the College of Horticulture, Mandsaur, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during the year 1998.This variety has been developed by pedigree selection method.
It is selection from JA-20 and wild types of Ashwagandha.JA-134 is erect, tall and leaf is chordates, dark green colour, surface is hairy, berries are yellow or yellowish brown.It takes about 150 -175 days for maturity and average dry root yield is about 4 to 6 q•ha −1 .

Organics
The organics consisted of FYM, vermi-compost and NOC.Vermi-compost was obtained from the Research Farm while FYM from the Cattle production unit of JNKVV, Jabalpur.The NOC was purchased from the open market.All the organics, zinc sulphate, phosphorus, potassium and half of nitrogen were applied at the time of sowing as basal dressing as per treatments.The remaining amount of nitrogen was applied at 40 days after sowing (DAS) during both the years.

Field Preparations
In order to obtain the optimum tilts the field was prepared by a deep summer ploughing followed by harrowing with tyne-harrow and leveled with the help of tractor driven leveler during both the years (2008 and 2009).
The experiment plot was prepared as per approved layout plan.JA-134 was sown at a planting geometry of 30 cm × 10 cm using a seed rate of 10 kg•ha −1 by hand dibbling at depth of 5 cm after opening furrows in each plot on 16 th August' during both the years (2009 and 2010).

Intercultural Operations
Thinning is the process of removal of excess seedlings to maintain the uniform and desired plant population and the same was carried at 50 DAS during both the years.Weeding is the process of removal of unwanted plant species from the field plots and the same which was done manually at 25 and 50 DAS.

Harvesting
The crop was harvested on 2 nd March 2009 and 2010 after attaining the full maturity of Ashwagandha crop.One row from either side of each plot and 50 cm from both ends were harvested separately to remove the border effect and then net plot was harvested manually.The produce was tied into bundles, duly labeled was kept in respective plots for sun drying and bundle weight was recorded in kg plot wise.

Result
All the results of regarding economic yield and production of alkaloids are shows in Tables 1-4.

Cultivation Cost
The cost of cultivation which included operational cost and input cost, varied from treatment to treatment depending upon nutrient applied under different plots

Economic of Cultivation Cost
The cost of cultivation under each treatment was determined by considering the total cost of both common and variable inputs on per hectare area basis.The detailed procedure for determining the cost of cultivation of each treatment is given in Appendix-I, II and III.The cost of cultivation is not only useful to work out the net monetary return for the farmers, but it is also useful to assess the suitability of particular treatments for the farmers.The cost of cultivation was minimum (Rs.12,990 ha −1 ) under the application of 50% recommended dose of chemical fertilizers but it increased marginally to Rs 13,460/ ha under the application of 100% recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers.The cost of cultivation increased apparently very high (Rs.23,010 ha −1 ) when 100% recommended dose of NPK was applied along with 2.5 t•ha −1 vermi-compost and 5.0 t•ha −1 FYM as well as 20 kg•ha −1 ZnSO 4 .The FYM and vermi-compost involve more expenditure on transport in addition to their cost of production through off farm sources.Hence, the cultivation cost in the case of T 11 , T 14 , T 10 and other treatments is different than that under the application of nutrients solely.

Gross Monetary Returns
It is the gross return out of total produce of one hectare area under a particular treatment on the basis of existing market rate in the locality.It directly relates to quantity and price of product in the market.The increased production under a particular treatment reflects the increased gross monetary returns of the treatments.In ashwagandha crop not only root yield had good market value but also it produced marginal seed yield, with the market of seeds as an additional source of income.The 50% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers having the minimum root yield, fetched the lowest gross monetary return (Rs.28,230 ha −1 ) on the basis of two years data.The gross monetary returns increased appreciably when plant nutrients were supplied to the crop through different sources.The integrated use of FYM, vermi-compost, chemical fertilizers and micronutrient in the case of T 11 (100% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 ton•ha −1 vermi-compost + 5.0 ton•ha −1 FYM + 20 kg•ha −1 ZnSO 4 ) and T 14 (50% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 ton•ha −1 vermi-compost + 5.0 ton•ha −1 FYM + 20 kg•ha −1 ZnSO 4 ) fetched gross monetary returns Rs. of 61,280 ha −1 and 55,580 ha −1 respectively on account of higher dry root yield and seeds yield under aforesaid treatments with other treatments being lower under T 2 and T 1 treatments (Rs.28,230 ha −1 and 31,010 ha −1 ) respectively because of poor dry root and seed yield for ashwagandha crop.These findings are in close conformity with the results of Singh and Rai [18].

Net Monetary Returns
It is the actual profit gained under a particular treatment because NMR was determined by subtracting the cost of cultivation from gross monetary returns of the same treatment.The NMR was minimum (Rs.15,240 ha −1 ) under T 2 where 50% recommended dose of chemical fertilizers was given to ashwagandha which increased appreciably with the application of nutrient at different rates through various sources like organic manures, inorganic fertilizers along with micronutrient.Application of 100% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 ton•ha −1 vermi-compost + 5.0 ton•ha −1 FYM + 20 kg•ha −1 ZnSO 4 under T 11 treatment obtained the maximum net monetary returns (Rs.ha −1 ) followed by T 14 treatment receiving 50% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 ton•ha −1 vermi-compost + 5.0 ton•ha −1 FYM + 20 kg•ha −1 ZnSO 4 (Rs.33,040 ha −1 ) as compared to other treatments perhaps due to proportionate increase in yield parameters, root and seed yield.These findings are in conformation with the results of [15,19].Maheshwari et al. [20] reported that the application of FYM 2.5 t/ha along with 12.5 kg N + 25 kg P/ha, recorded the highest dry root yield, net return and benefit-cost ratio of Ashwagandha (JA-134) under rainfed condition.

Profitability
Profitability is represented by benefit-cost ratio of a particular treatment.It refers to monetary gain over each rupee of investment under a particular treatment.The profitability was the highest (2.66) under T 11 treatment receiving 100% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 ton•ha −1 vermi-compost + 5.0 ton•ha −1 FYM + 20 kg/ha ZnSO 4 followed by T 14 treatment receiving 50% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + 2.5 t/ha vermicompost + 5.0 t/ha FYM + 20 kg/ha ZnSO 4 due to more returns per rupee of investment.However, the reverse was true in case of other treatments.These findings are in the confirmation with the results of [16,17].

Figure 1 .
Market value of dry root of W. somnifera was Rs. 100/kg during the year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Showing the treatments pattern of Benefit cost ratio of Withania somnifera.