Potato and Tuber Crops

Arrowroot Cultivation

Arrowroot and Colocassia Cultivation

• Maranta arundinacea L. (Marantaceae), commonly referred to as arrowroot, is an herbaceous, perennial plant that grows to a height of 0.9-1.5 m (Raymond and Squires, 1959).
• Arrowroot is cultivated primarily as a source of food starch, which is found in cylindrical rhizomes (Ciacco and D'Appolonia, 1976; Lii and Chang, 1978).
• Historically, St. Vincent, West Indies, produced over 98% of the supply of arrowroot starch for the United States, Canada, Britain and E

  

  urope (Bolt, 1962); however, production has declined in the past 2 yr (J. W. Duellimore, pers. comm.).
• The plant is also grown on other islands in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia (Motaldo, 1967), South America, Philippines (Kay, 1973) and India (Maury and Barooah, 1976). Rhizome yields range from 12.5 to 31 tons/ha and rhizome starch yields at the factory are 8-16% in St. Vincent (Kay, 1973).
• Processing of arrowroot starch in St. Vincent is performed by a wet milling process. Rhizomes are washed, mechanically crushed to release the starch, and screened to separate coarse and fine fibrous residue from the starch.
• The starch, which settles by gravity, is resuspended, washed, separated by gravity and air dried in naturally ventilated buildings (Wurzburg, 1952; Lawton, 1956).
• Coarse and fine residues from the milling process and wash and settling waters are presently unused and discharged directly from the processing plant without treatment.
• Although the arrowroot plant is cultivated primarily as a food source, an integrated approach to utilizing plant biomass and factory residues may enhance the economical return from producing arrowroot starch.
• These frost tender perennials are native to tropical America and are grown for their beautiful foliage. They can be grown outside in frost-free climates only. Their leaves rise straight out of the soil and vary in size and shape.
• They are often marked with streaks or blotches of contrasting colors. M. leuconeura variety erythroneura (Herringbone Plant) has oblong, velvety, black green leaves veined with red and having a lime-green midrib area.
• This plant will produce erect spikes of small, white or violet flowers throughout the year. M. leuconeura variety kerchoveana (Rabbit Tracks) has oblong grayish-green leaves marked with dark brown blotches that fade with age. Its small, mauve or white flowers are also produced throughout the year.