Land Use Pattern of Production of Temperate Fruits in Himachal Pradesh : A Study of District Shimla

Abstract

Farm production is the resultant of allocation of resources into different ends and when these are combined in proper proportion, it can help to achieve a higher level of efficiency in a farm business. Use of any resource beyond its capacity can result in its rapid depletion and deterioration, which may cause severe damage to the sustainability of farming. Therefore, the study revealed the land use pattern of different farm sizes in production of temperate fruits, which not only determines resource efficiency, but also farm diversification. It was observed that 92% of the land was cultivated, of which 77% was under apple production and rest under other temperate fruits production. However, different farm size allocation picture revealed that more than 70% of the land was devoted to apple cultivation followed by pears, almonds cultivation by all farm sizes. As far as farm ownership is concerned, it was found to be 100% self-owned with no leasing in and leasing out across all farm sizes.