Greater yam

  • Season:  Kharif
  • Soil type: Well drained fertile soil and do not come up well in water-logged condition.
  • Planting time: Under rainfed condition, second fortnight of May to first fortnight of June is optimum time of planting.  April is optimum time for planting of irrigated summer crop.
  • Seed rate:   600-800 kg/acre
  • Seed tuber treatment: Dip the tubers in a slurry prepared from 1 bucket of water + 2 kg cow dung + 25 ml of chloropyriphos+ 25 g of Mancozeb followed by drying under shed for 5-6 hours before planting.
  • Seed tubers: Whole tuber or cut tuber of 150-200 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 crops found superior.
  • Nutrient management: 
  • Basal: FYM 4t + SSP 150 kg, 1st Top dressing at 20-30 DAP: Urea 35 kg + MOP 27 kg per acre, IInd top dressing at 50-60 DAP: Urea 35kg + MOP 27 kg/acre
  • Weed management: First inter-cultural operation followed by hand weeding at 20-30 DAP and second hand weeding at 50-60 DAP.
  • Staking: Staking with bamboo poles, coir rope is beneficial for maximizing the tuber yield. Maize is recommended as inter crop for grain yield as well as for staking of yams
  • Water management: Irrigated summer crop needs 4-5 irrigation depending on soil type till the onset of monsoon rainfall. Do not allow water stagnation yam field during kharif season. Yam respond well to drip irrigation.
  • Harvesting: The crop becomes ready in 8-10 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 farmer can get 8-10 t of tuber /acre