Economic Impact of Marketing Practices on Hybrid and Desi Varieties of Tomato in Karnataka State

India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China. Poor marketing mechanisms currently limit the growth of horticulture. The significant discrepancy between the prices that farmers receive and what consumers pay is a result of ineffective marketing strategies. Marketing plays an important role in fruits and vegetables due to their perishability in nature. The farmers need to decide in a short span where to sell their produce across different markets to get remunerative price. The study was conducted in the Kolar and Chikkaballapura districts of Karnataka state. By random sampling 30 tomato farmers cultivating both hybrid and desi varieties and 10 intermediaries were selected from each district consisting of totally 80 respondents. The study found that, marketing cost per quintal was more in traditional marketing channel (Hybrid- ?117.30 and Desi- ?116.80) than modern marketing channel (Hybrid- ?44.30 and Desi- ?40.22). Price spread was more in traditional marketing channels (Hybrid - channel-II - 72.30% and channel-I - 65.29%, Desi - channel-II -73.30% and channel-I - 69.45%) than modern marketing channel (Hybrid - channel-III - 45.00%, Desi - Channel-III - 50.00%). Producer share in consumer rupee found more in modern marketing channel (Hybrid -58.93% and Desi - 50.39%) than traditional marketing channels I and II in both varieties. Marketing efficiency found more in modern marketing channel (Hybrid- 1.24 and Desi 1.02) than traditional marketing channel (channel-I & II) The highest marketing efficiency channel was found to be Producer to Modern retailer to Consumer. Hence, government policies should promote direct marketing models, processing industries and export policies for tomato marketing.