OVERVIEW
The ICAR-CTCRI is a premier research organization in the world dedicated solely to the research on tropical tuber crops. The Institute celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2023 and 60 years of concerted research has led to the development of several sustainable production, protection and processing technologies for tuber crops, besides release of 71 improved varieties. The target group of most of the technologies being marginal and resource poor farmers, adequate emphasis is also given for onfarm evaluation and popularization of the technologies. In addition, several technologies were also developed in the recent past enabling resource generation through consultancies and commercialization.
ACHIEVEMENTS
ICAR-CTCRI has a germplasm wealth of tuber crops, totalling 5542. The pioneering role in classical breeding of tropical tuber crops attracted international collaborations in the breeding and genetic improvement of these crops. Research on molecular based improvement is also being continued. The ICAR-CTCRI has released 71 varieties with various quality traits and preferences. The cassava starch and sago production in the country is mostly dependent on four major industrial varieties of cassava released from ICAR-CTCRI, viz., H-165, H-226, Sree Athulya and Sree Apoorva. These varieties are promising and acceptable to the farmers as well as industries. The three cassava varieties, Sree Reksha, Sree Sakthi and Sree Suvarna are resistant to cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and are high yielding. A new variety in cassava viz., Sree Kaveri was recently released by Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC) for the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Sree Kaveri is resistant to cassava mosaic disease, drought tolerant and has high nutrient use efficiency. The β-carotene rich sweet potato varieties, Bhu Sona, Bhu Kanti and Bhu Ja; anthocyanin rich Bhu Krishna and mid-season drought tolerant Bhu Swami have gained wide popularity among the rural and tribal people. Two varieties in taro viz., Sree Telia and Sree Hira were released for the state of Odisha by State Variety Release Committee (SVRC). The Institute has strong research programmes on biotechnology, which includes the development of diagnostic tools for viral and fungal diseases and transgenic plants for conferring resistance to cassava mosaic disease and to enhance the starch content and develop waxy varieties.
Eco-region specific agro-techniques are available for tuber crops in different production systems of the country. Besides, technologies were developed for quality planting material production, sustainable nutrient management (INM, SSNM and organic practice), natural farming, water (micro-irrigation, drip fertigation) and weed management, which help in enhancing the yield, soil fertility and farm income. Improved tuber crop varieties are gaining popularity in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, North eastern states and Lakshadweep Islands through RKVY and other schemes. Integrated crop protection technologies developed for cassava mosaic disease, cassava tuber rot, taro leaf blight, collar rot of elephant foot yam, anthracnose of greater yam and sweet potato weevil would help the farming community in eventualities. Management of banana pseudostem weevil through cassava based bioformulations, viz., Nanma and Menma was a success in the farmers’ fields. In collaboration with ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode, three biocapsules were developed based on encapsulation technology of ICAR-IISR (Indian Patent No. 361021 dated 13.08.2013) containing Trichoderma asperellum and Bacillus spp. in a gelatine capsule for delivery to agricultural crops. These organisms ensure growth promotion and disease suppression in tuber crops and vegetables.
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 power operated size based Chinese potato grader was recently developed and commercialized for boosting farmers’ income. In addition, there are technologies for several value-added food products, which include pasta, noodles, fried snack foods etc. Development of functional foods from cassava, sweet potato, yams and elephant foot yam are the recent contributions. Two ICAR-CTCRI technologies, ‘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 utilization and farm income by the farmers and other stakeholders. The IT tools such as e-Crop, smart fertigation system, Tuber Crops Online Marketing System (TOMS) and growth simulation and selflearning growth models for different crops were developed and validated for applications in smart farming. Intelligent bioinformatics tools were developed to predict plant-pathogen 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 SubPlan (TSP) and Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) are the important developmental programmes implemented successfully and have greatly helped to increase livelihood security of the farmers and other stakeholders across the country
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, ICAR-CTCRI 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. ICARCTCRI 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 Indo-Swiss) 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) has been active in 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. During 2023, six MoUs were signed with Digital University of Kerala; MG University, Kerala; Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam; IIT, Palakkad and MoA with a-IDEA, Techno Business Incubator, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad have strengthened the collaboration for research and education on tuber crops. MoUs were also signed recently for commercializing wax coating technology for fresh cassava tubers, Chinese potato foliar micronutrient formulations, commercializing cassava based bioformulations and value added products of tuber crops etc., which will help in building agribusiness and entrepreneurship development.
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 ICARCTCRI through a strong fiber optic backbone. 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 can be accessed at https://www.ctcri.org, which provides comprehensive information about the various activities of the Institute and online facilities like sales counter, discussion forum etc. The ICAR-CTCRI celebrated its 60th Foundation Day (Diamond Jubilee Celebration) on 22 July 2023 in the esteemed presence of Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR. During the event, Climate controlled plant growth facility, Farmer facilitation centre and Agribusiness Incubator (ABI) were inaugurated. ICAR-CTCRI in collaboration with Indian Society for Root Crops (ISRC) jointly organized the National Conference on Tropical Tuber Crops for Sustainability, Tradition, AgriFood Systems & Resilience (NCTTC 4 STAR 2023) during 27-29 November 2023 with the participation of more than 150 delegates across the nation. Two brainstorming sessions were organised one on cassava mealybugs and another on Chinese potato to address the challenges faced by the farmers. As a part of IYoM celebrations, the Institute has established a Millet Museum for creating awareness among the farmers and common public for the production and consumption of millets. The Institute also celebrated International Year of Millets by organizing various programmes for creating awareness among farmers and other clients.
