Production and distribution of quality planting materials of tuber crops Under the Mega seed project being in operation at the Headquarters, Thiruvananthapuram, around 22.5 tonnes of elephant foot yam, 18.4 tonnes of yams, 30,000 cassava stems and 25000 vine cuttings of sweet potato, 25 kg of taro and 1.5 tonnes of arrow root have been produced and supplied to the clientele system. Likewise, at the Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar a large quantity of quality planting materials of tuber crops particularly elephant foot yam (6.23t) and yam var. Orissa elite (250 kg) were produced and distributed to farmers, development departments, NGOs etc. From the on farm evaluation of Cassava Mosaic Resistant (CMR) lines in farmers’ plots, the line CMR-1 showing 28.6% extractable starch was found to be better than all the other lines and recorded highest tuber yield of 60 t/ha and was also free from cassava mosaic disease and other pests. During the current season, the area under this line increased to 3.3 acres by a farmer, after realizing the potential of this variety. Out of the 10 lines evaluated in OFT at Kadambur hill (Erode dist.), CMR-55 found to show good extractable starch content (24%) with tuber yield of 35.13t/ha and total resistance to CMD. |
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