SERICUL TURE AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE - Institute for ...

Cotton was the predominant crop in the eighties. It had been
replaced with Ground-nut as the major crop since 1991. The major
factor that had contributed to the displacement of cotton is said to be the
pest-menace, for which there was no effective pesticide available in the
market and even the available ones were very costly. Ground-nut, which
is also a semi irrigated cash crop like cotton, had been there even earlier
but attained its peak, after the displacement of cotton. It is the most
cultivated crop in Seripura, taken up by about 68 per cent of the fanners.
It occupies more than one fourth (about 28 per cent) of the total cropped
land.
About half the number of the land-holders have gone for paddy
cultivation, which is the second-most cultivated crop. This indicates the
importance, a subsistant crop continues to receive, in spite of the
emergence of cash crops. It also indicates the emergence of paddy itself
to be one of the cash crops in Seripura. Paddy occupies about 13 per
cent of the cropped lands while mulberry occupies about half its size and
sugarcane, less than one fourth of its size. Tomato is a semi-irrigated
crop, commanding about 4 per cent of the total cropped area. The two
popular rain-fed crops are samai and ragi, occupying about 17 per cent
and II per cent of the cropped area respectively. These crops have been
adopted by as many as 48 and 43 per cent of the land-holders
respectively. Horsegram is another rain-fed crop that occupies a
considerable area (about 8.6 per cent). Tree crops like coconut, mango,
eucalyptus, as well as some other minor crops like cotton, beans, chilli,
etc., together account for about seven per cent of the total cropped area.
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