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L.N. Revathy

Nilgiris potato being sorted at a godown.

COIMBATORE, May 6

THE starch-rich Nilgiris potato, which had almost lost ground owing to pest attack and low-yielding seeds, has sprung up to life again. Thanks to the efforts of the Central Potato Research Station (CPRS) at Muthorai in Udhagamandalam, the yield of the variety has gone up.

The cultivation area of the potato plunged from over 10,000 hectares to around 3,000 hectares between 1980 and 2000. But with the help of CPRS, the crop area has moved up to 5,600 hectares last year.

Nilgiris potato, which ruled the roost until mid-70s, started to lose ground to the up-country produce owing to lack of good quality seeds.

It is believed that the `Queen of Hills' was chosen by the British for cultivation of potato as it was their staple food. Britons sourced good potato seeds from Holland and Germany for cultivation in the hill district. No pesticides or chemicals were sprayed and the crop continued to remain healthy until 1975, when the `golden nematode' struck, wiping out its prospects.

Thereafter, the growers resorted to unrestrained use of chemicals and pesticides which had a direct, but adverse impact on soil fertility, followed by shortage in the supply of quality seeds, inadequate water for cultivation, poor coordination in marketing and lack of Governmental support. All the factors combined together inflicted losses on the trade.

Growers started sourcing seeds from Jalandhar and Bangalore, as these were found rich in starch content, until CPRS stepped in to supply seeds of high-yielding varieties.

According to CPRS scientist Dr Joseph, new varieties resistant to cyst nematode and late blight attack have been evolved. ``These are the major pests in potatoes,'' he said.

Goofry Swarna and Goofry Giriraj are the two varieties released by the station for commercial cultivation in recent years and CPRS is understood to have supplied about 500 quintals of these seeds last year.

Despite taking a lead in cultivation, the potato growers of the region are yet to venture into processing activities lamenting lack of Government support.

``We have no post-harvest storage facility. There is a huge demand for these potatoes from Sri Lanka. On the domestic front, these potatoes are sold across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh,'' said a trader.

The production, which had once been 100 per cent of the national yield, is just about 5 per cent now. However, the consumption in recent times has increased manifold.

Currently, the prices of Nilgiris potatoes range between Rs 4 and Rs 12 a kg.

During peak demand, these may even command a high of Rs 18 a kg.

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