Potato and Tuber Crops

Origin and Distribution

• Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) popularly known as tapioca, is a native of Brazil in Latin America and was introduced to India (Kerala) by the Portuguese in the 17th century. Portuguese distributed the crop from Brazil to countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and India.
• Nigeria is the major growing country in world accounting for 50% of area and production. In India, crop is cultivated in southern peninsular region, particularly Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh contributing 93% of area and 98% of production in the country.
• Kerala accounts for nearly 50% of total area under cassava in India and is mainly grown as rainfed crop.