Effect of soil amendments and irrigation regimes on minimum tillage planted sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in rice (Oryza sativa) fallows under lowland conditions

A field experiment was conducted during the year 2008-09 and 2009-10 at Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India to study the effects of soil amendments and frequency of irrigation on minimum tillage planted sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fallows under lowland conditions. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with soil amendments (rice straw, farmyard manure (FYM) and no amendment) in main plot and frequency of irrigation (no irrigation, 2, 3 and 4 irrigations) in sub plots. In minimum tillage planted sweet potato, application of rice straw and FYM increased sweet potato growth and root yield. Increasing number of irrigations also increased minimum tillage planted sweet potato growth and root yield. When rice straw was applied, three irrigations were found optimum, whereas in the case of FYM, four irrigations were required for higher root yield

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Not AvailableThe carbohydrate rich root and tuber crops are next to cereals and grain legumes in supplying energy to the world population. The vegetatively propagated root and tuber crops i.e. sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), greater yam (Dioscorea alata), taro (Colocasia esculenta), elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), cassava (Manihot esculenta), yam bean (Pachyrhizus erosus) and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) etc. have great flexibility in adjusting any farming system and also, they are the best climate resilient crops under changing climate. The Regional Centre of ICAR-CTCRI, Bhubaneswar and ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram have developed number of high yielding and nutritionally rich varieties and resource use efficiency technologies of tuber crops. The technologies very well fit into crop diversification as well as farming systems. Under Tribal Sub Plan (TSP), the Regional Centre of ICAR-CTCRI, Bhubaneswar has demonstrated tuber crops technologies in crop diversification as well as location specific farming systems in 1840 tribal farmers fields in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states for a decade (2012-2021). Under TSP, the Regional Centre of ICAR-CTCRI, Bhubaneswar has distributed quality planting materials of greater yam tubers 69500 kg, elephant foot yam corms 34800 kg, colocasia/taro cormel 20000 kg, sweet potato vine cuttings 38.6 lakh and tubers 2080 kg, cassava stem 42800 nos. and yam bean seeds 822.5 kg at free of cost to the tribal farmers. Under this project, backyard poultry 6220 nos., ducks 750 nos., goats 109 nos. and pigs 120 nos. were also distributed to the tribal farmers for improving their livelihood. Seeds of cereals (rice 260 kg and maize 70 kg), millets (ragi 26 kg), pulses (red gram 66 kg) and vegetables seeds 18.6 kg and seed kits 1085 were also distributed to be included in their farming system to achieve food and nutritional security. Tribal farmers also contributed elite land race seeds of rice, ragi, maize, red gram, green gram and black gram for farming system demonstrations. To reduce the drudgery of field operations, small agricultural implements were distributed to the tribal farmers. Sprayers 539, hand hoe 717, sickle 717, crow bar 717, pickaxe 717, cultivator 118, garden hoe 118 and spade 688 numbers were distributed to the tribal farmers. As the tribal farmers’ fields are adjacent to the forest, to protect tuber crops from animals GI mesh fencing material 3370 kg were also distributed. Raised cement floor for goat keeping (57 Nos.) and duck-shed (55 Nos.) were also constructed near to their fields. Most of the tribal villages are remote, with less accessibility and without electricity and hence, during 2016-17, a solar pump set was installed in Dayanidhiguda village, Koraput Block, Koraput District, Odisha and during 2017-18, one more solar pumpset was installed in Ranchi district, Jharkhand for irrigating the crops during dry spell and also to cultivate crops during rabi season. Seventy-four trainings and exposure visits were organized to train 4068 tribal farmers (2505 men and 1563 women) on scientific methods of tuber crops, cereals, pulses and vegetable crops cultivation, backyard poultry, duckery, goatery and piggery farming. Crops and animals performance were monitored by the experts by regular field visits. The results of the demonstrations indicated that tuber crops yield was influenced by the locations. The yield variation of greater yam was 22.3-26.2 t/ha, elephant foot yam 20.2-25.0 t/ha, colocasia/taro 14.3-15.8 t/ha, sweet potato 11.6-14.2 t/ha, yam bean 15.4-20.5 t/ha and cassava 15.4-18.3 t/ha. Tuber crops-based farming system (0.4 ha model) resulted in net return of Rs 120938/0.4 ha with crops and backyard poultry, and Rs 148375/0.4 ha with crops, backyard poultry and goats. The income of the tribal farmer is doubled with the inclusion of tuber crops in their cropping/farming system and they had sufficient food for household consumption. Thus, food and nutrition security and livelihood improvement are achieved through tuber crops technologies.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableRoot and tuber crops are the one of the oldest group of crops domesticated by the human being. Nutritionally, they are on par with new world food crops. Greater yam (Dioscorea alata) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) are highly drought tolerant crops. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and yam bean (Pachyrrhizus erosus) can be grown in marginal soils. Under Tribal Sub Plan programme, yam, taro (Colocasia esculenta), sweet potato, yam bean and cassava cultivation was demonstrated in the tribal areas of Odisha, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand states of India during 2012-13 for livelihood improvement and income generation. Greater yam 7400 kg, taro 1550 kg, yam bean 100 kg sweet potato 110000 vine cuttings and cassava 40000 sett were distributed to the tribal farmers and the area covered in all the three states together was greater yam 3.7 ha, taro 1.24 ha, yam bean 8.0 ha, sweet potato 2.2 ha and cassava 4.0 ha. Greater yam recorded higher yield of 458 kg 200 m-2 with the net return of Rs 4380. The net returns from yam and taro were higher than other crops implying their commercial stature. However, Benefit cost ratio from yam bean (2.76) was as high as greater yam (2.76). High yield and returns from the improved varieties of tuber crops increased the food availability in the household. Voluntary intake of available nutrient rich tubers improved the nutritional security of the disadvantaged tribal farmers in the above statesNot Availabl

Fertilizer best management practices by SSNM and customized fertilizers for elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) cultivation in India

Elephant foot yam [Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson] is an important tuber crop grown in many parts of India for its starchy corm and the average yield of this crop is far below the potential productivity of 100 tonnes/ha. One of the reasons attributed to the lower yield is the imbalanced application of essential plant nutrients. Site specific nutrient management (SSNM) is the application of plant nutrients based on the soil and crop need, yield target and developed with the aid of models such as QUEFTS. This paper gives the result of four year study conducted to calibrate and validate the QUEFTS model for elephant foot yam cultivation and the development of SSNM zonation maps and secondary and micronutrient fortified customised fertilizers for the crop in major growing environments of India. Data collected from different field experiments conducted in major elephant foot yam-production regions of India during 1968 to 2011 were used to calibrate the model. The derived parameters of minimum and maximum accumulation of N (130 and 460), P (900 and 2100) and K (100 and 170) are proposed as standard borderline values in the QUEFTS model for elephant foot yam. A linear increase in corm yield was suggested by the model with N, P and K uptakes of 3.97, 0.71, and 7.05 kg N, P and K/1 000 kg corm. The average NPK ratio in total plant dry matter was 5.56:1:9.88. Based on these results, the model was calibrated using historical data as well as by conducting field experiments. It can be observed that fertilizer best management practices by SSNM resulted in an average actual corm yield of 33.45 tonnes/ha, whereas, the model predicted a yield of 35 tonnes/ha. The results of the study showed good agreement between predicted and measured corm yields during the four years, which indicated that the calibrated model can be used to improve NPK fertilizer recommendations for elephant foot yam in India. Based on the results and using soil fertility maps and agro ecological unit maps, SSNM zonation maps and secondary and micronutrient fortified customised fertilizers were developed for major elephant foot yam growing environments of India

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Not AvailableStarch is a major energy source in human diet. The use of starch products as a food ingredient is usually not based on their nutritional value but on their functional value. All most all major industries (food and non-food) have found some application of starch. The Indian starch and starch derivatives market is segmented such as maltodextrin, cyclodextrin, glucose syrups, hydrolysates, modified starch, and others; and its wide application in different end-user industries such as food and beverage, feed, paper industry, pharmaceutical industry, bio-ethanol, cosmetics, and others. In India, starch is produced in 3,75,000 tonnes. Out of which 1,87,000 tonnes used by the food sectors and the remaining goes to non-food sectors. In India, starch and starch derivative market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period 2020-2025. In India, small scale firms are important players in the starch industry especially for root and tuber crops starch processing and utilization.ICAR- Central Tuber Crops Research Institut

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Not AvailableMultiple cropping is the best way of sustainable intensification of crop production, from the limited resources. More flexibility in planting and harvesting of tropical root and tuber crops provide ample scope for various crop production systems. Intercropping of legumes, cereals, and vegetables in root and tuber crops increased system productivity with land-use efficiency, though yields of sole crop of roots and tubers decreased. Intercropping root and tuber crops in plantation and fruit tree crops gave additional returns. Weed suppression, pest and disease reduction and improvement in soil nutrient status are the additional benefits of root and tuber crops involved in multiple cropping systems. In rice (Oryza sativa L.)-based cropping system in the coastal plains of Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam.) is planted after harvesting of rice to take advantage of the residual soil moisture and fertilizers. Multiple cropping also reduces severity of pests and diseases. The climate smart root and tuber crops generate assured income under various cropping systems.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted to find out the effect of weed control on growth, dry-matter production and partitioning in elephant-foot yam [Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson] during 2016 and 2017 at the Regional Centre, ICAR-CTCRI, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The treatments consisted of combinations of herbicides (pre- and post-emergence), hand-weeding and weed control ground cover (WCGC) along with the control (weedy check). The treatments WCGC, 4 hand-weeding at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAP and 2 hand-weeding at 30 and 60 DAP+glyphosate (at 90 DAP) resulted in higher plant height, canopy spread, pseudostem diameter, dry-matter accumulation in shoot, corm, root and total. Higher corm length, corm diameter and corm yield were noticed in treatments WCGC, 4 hand-weeding at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAP and 2 hand-weeding at 30 and 60 DAP+glyphosate (at 90 DAP). The treatment control (weedy check) resulted in lower growth attributes, yield attributes and corm yield. The treatments WCGC, 4 hand-weeding at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAP and 2 hand-weeding at 30 and 60 DAP+glyphosate (at 90 DAP) resulted in higher dry-matter and starch, and lower calcium oxalate content in corms. The treatment control (weedy check) resulted in lower dry-matter and starch, and higher calcium oxalate content in corms.Not Availabl