Conventional sucker with tissue culture banana production in Central India- A case study

An economic analysis of tissue-cultured banana and sucker-propagated banana has been presented through studying their costs and returns in production. The problems in cultivation of tissue-cultured banana have been highlighted. The study has been conducted in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra using personal interview method. The tabular analysis has been employed to find out the socio-economic characteristics, cost and returns in banana crop production through two methods. The study has revealed that tissue-cultured banana is more profitable to farmers than sucker-propagated banana. Higher price of Plantlets, lack of government subsidy on plantlets and lack of plantlets selling government outlets are the major problems in tissue culture banana production. Also, the lack in reliable market facilities, lack of expertise about identifying the pests, diseases and knowledge of plant protection and non availability of genuine planting material are problems in tissue culture banana. The study has suggested that farmers should be encouraged to adopt tissue culture banana (TCB) to get higher yield and profits.   Key words: Constraints productions, tissue culture banana, sucker.