OVERVIEW
The ICAR-CTCRI is a leading global research organization exclusively dedicated to tropical tuber crops. Over its 61 years of dedicated research, the Institute has released 77 improved varieties and has developed numerous sustainable production, protection, and processing technologies for tuber crops. With a focus on marginal and resource-poor farmers, the Institute places special emphasis on the welfare of the farming community and sustains their food and nutritional security through the innovative technologies. In recent years, ICAR-CTCRI has also introduced several technologies aimed at generating resources through consultancies, contract research and commercialization.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The Institute holds an extensive collection of 5234 tuber crop germplasm. Its pioneering efforts in the breeding of tropical tuber crops have attracted international collaborations for breeding and genetic enhancement. The Institute continues to do advance research on molecular-based crop improvement. To date, ICARCTCRI has released 77 varieties with diverse quality traits and farmer-preferred characteristics. The cassava starch and sago industries in India largely rely on four major industrial varieties developed by the Institute: H-165, H-226, Sree Athulya, and Sree Apoorva. In addition Sree Kaveri is notable for its CMD resistance, drought tolerance, and high nutrient-use efficiency. These varieties are widely accepted by the farmers and industries for their productivity and quality. In addition, three cassava varieties, Sree Reksha, Sree Sakthi, and Sree Suvarna are resistant to cassava mosaic disease (CMD) with high yields. Among sweet potato varieties, β-carotene-rich Bhu Sona, Bhu Kanti, and Bhu Ja, along with anthocyanin-rich Bhu Krishna and the mid-season drought-tolerant Bhu Swami, have gained significant popularity among rural and tribal communities. Two arrowroot varieties, Sree Nakshatra (Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand) and Sree Karti (Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Manipur) with high rhizome and starch yield were released by Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC) and Sree Aadya (Kerala) by State Variety Release Committee (SVRC) in Kerala for the first time in India. Additionally, two nutrient use efficient cassava varieties Sree Annam and Sree Manna, a semi dwarf type white yam named Sree Dhrona were also released for Kerala by SVRC. Improved tuber crop varieties introduced through RKVY and other schemes are gaining widespread popularity in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, the Northeastern states, and the Lakshadweep Islands.
The Institute runs robust biotechnology research programs, focusing on the development of diagnostic tools for viral and fungal diseases and the creation of transgenic plants resistant to cassava mosaic disease, with enhanced starch content and sweet potato weevil resistance. A new flagship project on genome editing has been initiated to develop waxy cassava, for use in food and industrial applications. Eco-region-specific agrotechniques have been developed for cultivating tuber crops across various production systems in the country. The Institute has also developed technologies for producing good quality planting material, sustainable nutrient management (including INM, SSNM, and organic practices), water management (through microirrigation and drip fertigation), and weed control. These advancements contribute to increased yields, improved soil fertility, and higher farm incomes.
Integrated crop protection technologies developed to combat key diseases and pests affecting tuber crops include management strategies for cassava mosaic disease, tuber rot and stem and root rot; taro leaf blight; collar rot and post-harvest rot in elephant foot yam; anthracnose in greater yam; and sweet potato weevil. These technologies provide valuable remedies to overcome crop health challenges. The Institute successfully demonstrated the management of banana pseudostem weevil in farmers' fields using cassava-based bioformulations, Nanma and Menma. Notably, sweet potato weevil (SPW) mortality caused by leaf protein extracts from the SPW-resistant Ipomoea mauritiana is the first of its kind globally. In collaboration with ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode, the Institute developed three biocapsules using ICAR-IISR's encapsulation technology. In addition, two liquid bioformulations were released: Sree Syama (Trichoderma asperellum) and Sree Jala (an endophytic Bacillus subtilis) with high colony-forming units. These bioagents promote plant growth and suppress diseases in tuber crops and vegetables. New entomopathogenic nematode isolates are obtained and are being utilized against major pests of different crops including tuber crops.
Efforts in crop utilization have paid rich dividends in terms of value addition and diversified technologies. Technologies for the industrial sector include products like modified starches, superabsorbent polymer, adhesives, thermoplastic starch and particle board apart from pre and postharvest machinery. A novel food spoilage detection system was developed using pHsensing cassava starch films infused with natural dyes (anthocyanin and curcumin). A power operated size based Chinese potato grader was patented. Vision based sweet potato grader machine, a portable self-propelled cassava sett cutter and multipurpose abrasive type peeler were recently developed and commercialized for boosting farmers’ income. The other value added products developed includes pasta, noodles, fried snack foods etc. Functional foods from cassava, sweet potato, yams and elephant foot yam were also developed. Sweet potato vacuum-fried chips and sweet potato nutribar were selected for branding by Kerala Startup Mission, Government of Kerala. Innovative extension programmes and methodologies have been developed for enhancing technology adoption and thereby increasing the income of the farmers and stakeholders. Probiotic-rich frozen desserts and gummy confections were developed from purple and orange fleshed sweet potatoes, which are rich in anthocyanin and betacarotene.
The IT tools such as e-Crop, smart fertigation system, Tuber Crops Online Marketing System (TOMS) and growth simulation and self learning growth models for different crops were developed and validated for applications in smart farming. Intelligent bioinformatics tools were developed to predict plantpathogen interaction, biological network construction, omics data integration and visualization. Molecular markers, miRNAs, lncRNAs and differentially expressed genes associated with biotic/abiotic stress and quality parameters of tuber crops were identified. The North Eastern Hill (NEH) programme, Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) and Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) are the three important developmental programmes implemented successfully and have greatly helped to increase the livelihood security of the farmers and other stakeholders across the country through trainings and demonstrations. Techno incubation centre at the Institute also trained farmers and other stake holders in value added products for entrepreneurship development in tuber crops. The ICAR-CTCRI bagged the Sardar Patel Outstanding Institution Award for the year 2005 instituted by the ICAR for outstanding contributions made in the improvement of tropical tuber crops and development of low-cost production technologies. The Institute also bagged many national and international recognitions in the past that include: J. Chinoy Gold Medal (1970), ICAR Team Research Awards (1985, 1996, 1998, 2014), D.L. Plucknett Award for Tropical Root Crops (1991), Hari Om Ashram Trust Award (1993), Jawaharlal Nehru Award (1975, 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003), Young Scientist Award instituted by Deseeya Sasthra Vedi (1996), NRDC cash reward for biodegradable plastics (2000), Pat Coursey Award (2000, 2006), Vasantharao Naik Memorial Gold Medal (2002), Chaudhary Devi Lal outstanding All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) Award (2007), Samantha Chandrasekhar Award (2013), International Potash Institute (IPI) - Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) Award (2014), Shri. L.C. Sikka Endowment Award (2014), IZA (International Zinc Association)FAI Award (2017) and Panjabrao Deshmukh Woman Scientist Award (2017). In recognition of its contribution to cassava growers and consumers worldwide, ICARCTCRI has been rewarded at the First International Meeting on Cassava Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Ecology organized at Brasilia, Brazil, during 11-15 November 2006. The Institute bagged several prizes in national and international agricultural exhibitions. The Best Annual Report Awards (1997-98) and (2017-18) among the category of small Institutes were conferred to ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute for succinctly presenting the research results. ICAR-CTCRI bagged 14th rank among all ICAR Institutes in the list of Ranking of Institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 for the significant research and extension achievements. A total of eight technologies from ICAR-CTCRI were certified by ICAR, New Delhi during 2023 and the technology on e-Crop based smart fertigation system was selected as one of the five best technologies in horticulture sector. The Institute has conducted more than 30 national and international symposia/seminars/workshops. The Institute is well equipped to conduct basic, strategic and applied research with its state-of-art laboratories. The infrastructural facilities of the Institute have increased during the X and XII Plan periods. Extramural support by way of research schemes from both international (CIAT, CIP, CIRAD, European Union, IFAD and IndoSwiss) and national agencies (DBT, DIT, DST, DRDO, DSIR, ICAR, KSCSTE, LSRB, MOEF, DoA, Kerala, KSPB, NABARD, PPIC, RKVY, PPV&FRA, SHM, CDB, UGC and Network and Consortia projects of ICAR) are enriching the research activities.
The Institute Technology Management Unit (ITMU) is carrying out IP activities. Various technologies related to machinery and value addition have been commercialized through ITMU under technology transfer, consultancy, licensing and contract research modes. The Institute has MoUs with different ICAR-Institutes, universities, state departments and private firms to strengthen the collaboration for research and education on tuber crops. MoUs were also signed recently for commercializing Electronic Crop loT device for smart farming, elephant foot yam flakes, cassava based protein enriched noodles which helps in building agribusiness and entrepreneurship development. Three growth simulation models, one for cassava (SIMCAS) two for sweet potato (MADHURAM and SPOTCOMS) were filed for copyright. The Bioinformatics & Statistics laboratory is equipped with Linux and Windows workstations, 6 stand alone terminals and 8 TB network assisted storage to assist high performance computing. The lab is installed with commercial software packages such as SAS, DNASTAR, BioBam (Blast2GO) and other open source softwares for statistics and bioinformatics applications. The Institute has established a full-fledged Local Area Network connecting various divisions, sections, administration, accounts and farm sections of ICAR-CTCRI through a strong fiber optic backbone. Six incubatees enrolled in the ICAR-CTCRI ABI in 2024, for food processing and agricultural input marketing. Three new satellite incubation centers at Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pattambi, Palakkad, Kerala for Tribal Entrepreneurship; College of Horticulture & Forestry, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Arunachal Pradesh for Protection and Commercialisation for Traditional Knowledge and Farmer Innovations and Assam University, Silchar, Assam for Indigenous and Local Community Entrepreneurship were established.
The main building of the Institute has CCTV facility and the entire campus is now Wi-Fi enabled through access controlled Wi-Fi devices and controllers. The VPN connectivity is established for global access to the servers. The Institute home page https://www.ctcri.org was redesigned, which provides comprehensive information about the various activities of the Institute and online facilities like an array of institute publications, academic and HRD details etc. The library at the Institute offers mobile e-resource access, static IP for secure e-journal access, and supports research with scientific books, circulation, and reference services. Two brainstorming sessions were organized on harnessing crop wild relatives and quality material production to address the challenges faced by the farmers. Infrastructure facilities were created with new equipments under Genome editing project and foundation stone was laid at Regional station, Bhubaneswar for mass production unit for bio-control agents. The Institute regularly organizes MGMG and Swachhata Hi Seva, the Government of India programmes both on and off campus with active participation from all staff members.
