Economic Evaluation of Peach Cultivation in North Indian Plains

The production constraints and economics of peach (Prunus persica (L) Batsch.) cultivation in Punjab and Uttarakhand have been presented. The investment in peach orchards has been found a profitable business. The internal rate of return (IRR) has been found to vary from 20.98 per cent to 23.80 per cent, depending on the size of peach orchards. The net present value, benefit-cost ratio and IRR at 12 per cent discount rate have been reported as Rs 44,807, 1.681 and 22.20, respectively for the overall category of orchards. The economic productive life of peach orchards in Punjab and Uttarakhand has been calculated up to 24 years. The optimum size of peach orchards is above 2.0 ha. It has been revealed that the peach orchards are worth retaining as long as they give the income of Rs 5,713 over the annual maintenance cost. The economic appraisal of investment methods has indicated that annual amortization method may be preferred, because of its simplicity, efficiency and close to real situation results. To achieve the targets of fruits production, priority should be given to proper post-harvest management, including establishment of mechanical grading, packaging, on-farm processing, cold storage and quality control measures to minimize post-harvest losses and provide remunerative prices to the peach growers.