Elephant foot yam

  • Season:  Kharif
  • Soil type: Well drained sandy loam or sandy clay loam soil with a near neutral soil reaction.
  • Planting time: Under rainfed condition, second fortnight of May to first fortnight of June is optimum. March is optimum time for planting of irrigated summer crop.
  • Seed rate:   2000-2500 kg/acre.
  • Seed tuber treatment: Dip the tubers in a slurry prepared from 1 bucket of water + 2kg cow dung+ 25ml of chloropyriphos+ 25g of Mancozeb and shed dry treated tuber before planting.
  • Seed tubers: Whole tuber or cut tuber of 400-500 g weight.
  • Methods of planting:  Plant the treated seed tuber vertically in a pit of 45x45x45 cm. Shallow planting is preferred.
  • Spacing: 90 x 90 cm
  • Mulching: Planting followed by mulching with dried leaves or paddy straw or agricultural polythene is beneficial and enhances tuber yield. Mulching with dhaincha green manures crop found superior.
  • Nutrient management: 
  • Rainfedkharif crop: (Basal: FYM 4t + SSP 125kg, 1st top dressing at 30-45 DAP: Urea 44kg + MOP 33 kg, IInd top dressing at 60-65 DAP: Urea 44kg+MOP 33kg)/acre.
  • Irrigated summer crop: (Basal: FYM 6t+SSP 250 kg+MOP 25kg,Ist top dressing at 30-45 DAP : Urea 66 kg +MOP 50 kg; IInd top dressing at 60-75 DAP: Urea 66 kg +MOP 50 kg) / acre.
  • Weed management: First intercultural operation followed by hand weeding and earthing up at 30-45 DAP and second hand weeding at 60-75 DAP.
  • Water management: Irrigated summer crop needs 4-6 irrigation depending on soil type till the onset of monsoon rain. Do not allow water stagnation in elephant foot yam field during kharif season. Drip irrigation proved highly economic and enhances tuber yield.
  • Harvesting: The crop becomes ready in 6-8 months after planting. The crop attains maturity when total senescence takes place and dig out the tubers without injuring the tubers. In a well-managed crop farmers can get 20-24t of tuber /acre