Economics of Coconut Cultivation Using Treated Sago Industrial Wastewater and Fresh Water in Salem District of Tamil Nadu

The study attempts to examine the socio- economic profile and economics of coconut cultivation using treated sago industrial wastewater and fresh water in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu. A sample of 180 farmers receiving treated wastewater from nearby industrial units and another 180 farmers receiving fresh water (control farms) were selected through a multistage purposive sampling technique. The major finding of economic analysis of coconut cultivation revealed that the gross income of the sample farm using treated sago industrial wastewater was high at ₹ 1,31,408.00 as a result of the better yield of nuts (12540) as compared to that obtained by irrigation with fresh water (12245). The net income per hectare of coconut was ₹ 46,128.64 and ₹ 34,245.72 for the farm using treated wastewater and control farms, respectively. The study; therefore could establish that using treated industrial wastewater for irrigation will be advantageous in terms of net returns and to an extent substitute use of fresh water for irrigation, besides helping to save on use of and expenditure of organic and inorganic fertilizers.