| Family |
Convolvulaceae |
| English Name |
Giant potato |
| Malayalam Name |
Palmutukku, Mothalkanta |
| Tamil Name |
Nilappoosani, Nilapusini |
| Kannada Name |
Bhuja gumbala, Guddagenasu |
| Telugu Name |
Boochakra gadda, Chirugummudu |
| Hindi Name |
Bhilaykand, Bhuyikohada |
| Sanskrit Name |
Ksiravidari |
| Trade Name |
Giant potato |
| Part Used |
Tubers and Leaves |
| In Wild |
NA |
| Under Cultivation |
NA |
| Temperature |
28°-32° C |
| Rainfall |
800-1200 mm |
| Farmers |
NA |
| Traders |
NA |
| Institution |
NA |
| Individually |
NA |
| State/Region |
NA |
| District |
NA |
| Nursery Information |
NA |
| Yield |
Yield is around 1580 kg of fresh tuber per hectare. |
| Economic of cultivation |
Cost of cultivation is ₹ 15000 per hectare.
Market price, as on Nov- Dec 2014, is Rs 30-40 per kg of dried rhizome. |
| Quantitative quality standards |
1. Foreign matter: Nil
2. Ash: Not more than 7.0%
3. Acid-insoluble ash: Not more than 2.0%
4. Ethanol-soluble extractive: Not less than
4.0%
5. Water-soluble extractive: Not less than 8% |
| Description |
Stout perennial climbers with tuberous roots and glabrous stem. Leaves to 15 x 15 cm, orbicular in outline, palmately lobed, lobes elliptic, acuminate; petiole to 12 cm long. Flowers pink, in axillary, few to many- flowered cymes. Corolla widely campanulate, 2.5-3 cm long and 4-5 cm across. Capsule 14 x 12 mm, ovoid, glabrous, 4-seeded; seeds 7 x 5 mm, obtusely trigonous, densely covered with long cottony hairs. |
| Agro technology/Cultivation practices |
Ipomoea mauritiana grows in dense and open forest, in riparian woodland, savanna with trees, dwarf forest near seashores, on river banks and in swamps, often on sandy soils, from sea-level up to 2500 m altitude with annual temperature of 28°-32° C and annual rainfall of 800-1200 mm and can grows on almost all soil types.
Cultivation
1. Planting-stock production: Propagules can be raised from seeds
and stem cuttings
2. Seed propagation: Seeds are best suited for propagation. Seedlings are
raised in mother beds or polybags of 25 cm × 10 cm size filled with
potting mixture of soil and farmyard manure and irrigate regularly.
Within 5-9 days, seeds germinate.
3. Vegetative propagation: Stem cutting of 10-15 cm length having 1 to 2
leaves are used and basal portion of cuttings are treated with Bavistin
solution (0.5%) prepared in water, for 30 minutes followed by IBA
(Indole-3-butyric acid) 6000 ppm for five hours and planted in polybags
filled with mixture of soil and farmyard manure and irrigate regularly.
4. Field planting: Seedlings are transplanted when they are 10-20 cm tall.
Pits of size 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm are dug at a spacing of 1 m x 1 m.
5. Manuring/Fertilization: Apply Farmyard manure as basal dosage during
field preparation.
6. Irrigation: During the initial stages of plant growth, the plants were
irrigated at an interval of 3-4 days. During flowering and fruiting
periods they were irrigated on alternate days.
7. Pest and diseases: No serious pests or diseases are reported in this
crop, but caterpillar of the moth (Eucromia polymena) has been reported
feeding the leaves. |
| Harversting |
I. mauritiana tubers are harvested 10- 12 months after planting. Crop is generally harvested during January by digging out the tubers manually. |
| Processing |
The harvested tubers are separated from the aerial parts, washed thoroughly and then dried under shade, packed in gunny bags before they are marketed. |
| References |
NA |
