Potato and Tuber Crops

Varieties

Improved varieties developed at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Sreekaryam, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala are given below :

Greater yam (Dioscorea alata) (Hindi : Ratula) (2n = 20, 30, 40-80)

• Sree Keerthi : Tubers are conical with brown skin and white flesh having 20-22% starch. It yields 25-30 t/ha in 9-10 months.
• Sree Roopa : Tubers are digitate in shape with black skin and white flesh. Productivity is 25-30 t/ha in 9-10 months.
• Sree Shilpa : Tubers are swollen, oval and smooth with black skin and white flesh. Yield is 28 t/ha in 8 months.
• Indu: It is a high yielding (39.39 t/ha) variety developed by Kerala Agricultural University. Tubers are digitate with brownish black skin and white to pale flesh.

White yam (D. rotundata)

• Sree Subhra : Tubers are cylindrical with brown and partially hairy skin and white flesh. Yield is 35-40 t/ha in 9-10 months.
• Sree Priya : It produces 2-3 tubers having smooth surface and good cooking quality. Yield is 35-40 t/ha in 9-10 months.
• Sree Dhanya : This is a dwarf and bushy variety with spineless stem and tubers containing 23.3% starch.