Brief presentation on colocasia . About vegetable colocasia

1. COLOCASIA
(Colocasia esculenta)

2. Introduction
• Commonly called Taro, Elephant ear
• Belongs to family Araceae
• Center of origin is believed to be Southeast Asia
• Africa ranks first in area and production of colocasia followed by asia.
• Widely cultivated for leaves, corms and petioles which are consumed as vegetables.
• Colocasia tubers are rich in starch
• All the parts of plant are poisonous unless cooked first.
• Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue, and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, and
difficulty swallowing can result from eating raw parts of this plant.

3. Botanical discription
• Herbaceous perennial plants; have underground corms and large leaves.
• The cultivars may vary in color of leaves, petioles and shape of corms and cormels.
• Flower Discription
 Rarely flowers;
 Flower color: Gold/ Yellow, Green,White
 Inflorescence: Spadix
• Leaves
 Very large (upto 3ft)
 Heart shaped to arrow shaped with
prominent veins Fig: Flower of colocasia
 Wide variety of colors and patterns

4. Climate and Soil
• Climate
 Colocasia requires moist conditions. In natural habitat, it is commonly found near water
sources.
 Warm season crop
 Colocasia an grow in hills if frost free conditions remains during growing season.
 The best growth takes place at 30 to 34 degree celscius.
• Soil
 Well drained and fertile clay loamy to clay soil is ideally suitable for its cultivation.
 pH of 5.5 - 7 is ideal.
 It can tolerate water logged conditions.

5. Cultivars/ Varities
Colocassia has a wide variability.
Some important varieties are : S-3, S-11, Gauraia, Faizabadi
Santamukhi, Sree Rashmi and Sree pallavi are improved varieties
Other varieties are : Black coral, Black magic, Hilo Bay, Mojita
b
Black magic Mojita Hilo Bay

6. Propagation
• Colocasia is propragated vegetatively most commonly
by small corms or cormels weighing 20-25g.
• Healthy, disease free and of uniform sized planting
material having 2-3 buds should be selected .
• The planting materials should be stored in a cool place
at least for 3 months before planting.
• Rate : 1 tonne planting material per hectare

7. Cultivation
• Planting
Planting is done by two methods:
On ridges
Flat bed method : under upland condition with good drainage
• Field Preparation
 The land is prepared thoroughly by harrowings along with plankings
and removal of grass and stone pieces.
 It can be planted in flooded and dry condition.
The bed is mulched with straw after planting.
• Spacing: 60 X 45cm
• Depth : 5cm deep
• Planting time: Terai: June - July
Hill: March - June

8. Manuring and Fertilization
• A basal dose of well decomposed FYM @ 20 - 25 tons/ ha should be mixed with soil 2 - 3
weeks before planting.
• 80:40:60 kg/ha NPK is economical dose.
• Half dose of N and K and full dose of P should be given as basal dose and ramaining half dose
of N and K should be applied first 7-10 days after sprouting and second a month later.
Intercultural Operations
• Crop should be irrigated once a week in summer.
• Hand weeding along with earthing up should be done.
Irrigation
• Irrigation throughout the season hepls to increase yield.
• Irrigation should be done once a week in summer season

9. Harvesting And Post Harvesting
• Crop matures in 4-5 months after planting.
• Harvesting time is indicated by drying up of leaves.
• Harvesting is done by digging out the corms and cormels.
• The mother corm and cormels are seperated after harvesting.
• Corms are cured for 10-15 days. The mature corms can be stored for 5-6 months on the
floor in a layer.
• Yield : 117 – 140 qtls/hac depending on type of variety.
Post Harvest Management
• Care should be taken during harvesting. The damaged tubers should be separated from
marketing lot and consumed within 2-3 days.
• Tubers should not be packed in airtight containers.
• Packing in jute bags or baskets prevents rotting during storage.

10. Major Diseases and Insect Pests
Common diseases
• Leaf blight
• Pythium rot
Common Insect pests
• Colocassia leaf hopper
• Leaf Eater
Physiological Disorders
• Water stagnation in field results in
tubers thatbecomes hard to cook.
• Control: Proper drainage should be
maintained in the field.
Fig: Leaf blight in colocasia Fig: Pythium rot in colocasia

11. Thank you !