Central Tuber Crops Research Institute

 Scientific cultivation practices from planting till harvest for different agro-eco-zones
 Good agricultural practices
 Agro-techniques, soil fertility management, soil and water conservation methods for hill cassava production systems
 Technological support for establishment of farms
 Farm advisory services and field diagnostic visits

i. Resilient agro-ecology based cropping and farming systems

ii. Organic and natural farming

 Organic production packages for cassava, elephant foot yam, yams, taro, tannia, Chinese potato and arrowroot; 10-20% higher yield, 20-40% higher profit
 Organic package for cropping systems involving tuber crops: cassava-groundnut, cassava-vegetable cowpea, elephant foot yam + cucumber/amaranthus
 Cassava var. Sree Reksha identified as the most suitable for organic farming
 Geo-tagged characterisation of 232 organic growers
 Technology for natural farming of cassava + vegetable cowpea- green gram

iii. Conservation agriculture (CA)
Conservation agriculture (CA) practices for banana-elephant foot yam intercropping system

 CA Productive: with 13% higher yield over PoP
 CA Energy efficient: Highest energy use efficiency and energy productivity (+55% over POP) and lower energy input (-36.17%) over conventional
 CA Sustainable: Soil building nature and better soil health maintenance. Significantly improved soil pH (+0.65 unit), available K, Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn status
 CA Profitable: +32% profit and -9% production costs with higher net income and B:C ratio

 Blanket nutrient recommendations
 Integrated plant nutrient system
 Low input management
 Customized plant nutrient formulations for tuber crops under intercropping in coconut
 Nutrient use efficient genotypes: The first K efficient cassava variety, Sree Pavithra; Two N use efficient genotypes: CR 43-8, W-19; NPK efficient genotypes: 7 III E3-5, CI-905, CI-906)
 Alternatives to traditional manures: Green manuring in situ with cowpea as the best alternate organic manure resource for cassava followed by residue of the crop
 Nutrient management for CMD management: Identified nutrients viz., P, K, Ca, Si, Zn in the management of CMD expression
 Integrated soil and plant B management strategy to correct the suspected B deficiency disorders in tubers

Wealth from waste

 Nutrient rich organic manure Thippi compost from cassava starch factory solid waste
 Biochar from tuber crop wastes

Nutrient use efficient microbes identified

 N fixers (Bacillus cereus)
 P solubilizer (Bacillus megaterium)
 K solubilizer (Bacillus subtilis) to reduce chemical fertilizer use in elephant foot yam

 Fertilizer best management practices (FBMP) based on SSNM for 7 tuber crops for different agro eco-zones using 4R nutrient stewardship
 Technology for preparation of customized plant nutrient formulations and micronutrient formulations
 Zone-specific secondary and micronutrient inclusive customized fertilizers for 6 crops
 Six designer foliar liquid micronutrient formulations commercialized
 Ten Decision Support Systems (DSS)

1. Drip irrigation schedules for cassava, elephant foot yam, taro, greater yam and sweet potato
2. Fertigation schedule for cassava, elephant foot yam, greater yam and taro
3. Water saving techniques for elephant foot yam and taro
4. Water requirement and water productivity worked out

 Climate modeling studies: Calibrated and validated 5 Models, viz., ECOCROP, WOFOST, MaxEnt, CROPWAT & Aquacrop
 Climate resilient agriculture practices for cassava and yams: 14% higher yield, reduction in global warming potential
 Foliar application of 1% KNO3 or 1% solubor effective against drought stress
 Against heat stress, benzyl adenine 1000 ppm imparted tolerance

 Synthesis of near neutral zeolite (NNZ) for agricultural applications for enhancing soil C quality and conservation under climate change
 Important parameters of interest in zeolites (as soil amendments) such as pH, Exch.Na and CEC estimated
 The efficiency of NNZ in decomposition resistance of carbon in soils added with commonly available organic materials (as estimated from carbon dioxide emission rates) studied under controlled conditions
 Addition of zeolites decreased the very labile C, increased the recalcitrant C and cumulative quantity of carbon dioxide released in soil-organic manure mixture

 Crop physiology in response to climate change
 Cassava genotypes viz., Noorumuttan, Sree Pavithra and Sree Sahya superior under drought stress
 Sweet potato varieties, Kalinga, Bhu Swami, Sree Kanaka, Sree Varun, and Sree Vardhini performed better under drought stress