HYDERABAD: With an intention to provide quality potato seed at affordable prices for small and marginal farmers in the country, the International Potato Centre has come up with Apical Rooted Cutting (ARC) seed technology that makes potato seed significantly cheaper. Samarendu Mohanty, Sampriti Baruah and Ravinder Reddy of International Potato Centre, who piloted this technology said that the ARC is a boon for the small farmers. “Many states in India have been facing the potato seed problem. Since seed accounts for 40-50 percent of the total cost of production (Rs 60,000-75,000 per hectare), it is a huge burden for small farmers. The high cost of seed has led to the use of discarded small-sized table potatoes to be used as seed for the majority of small and marginal farmers in the potato- growing belts. In the coming season, it will be even more difficult for farmers because of rising seed prices, with seed cost per hectare expected to exceed one lakh rupees,” Asia Regional Director of CIP Samarendu Mohanty said in an interview with TOI. He said even if farmers want to purchase good-quality seed at such a high price, there is still no guarantee that they would be able to obtain the desired quality of seed in a timely manner because of long distance transportation. Potato seeds are transported as much as 2,000 kms, affecting both their quality and timely delivery. During this long arduous transportation, 5 to 10 percent rotting of seed tubers is common, affecting both seed rate and ultimately yield, the regional director said.
“Last season, the Centre (in partnership with the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot) produced apical rooted cuttings in our Bangaluru/Hassan facility consisting of a tissue culture laboratory to produce tissue culture plantlets of popular varieties, a screenhouse to produce rooted cuttings from mother plants, and a temporary net house/open field to produce seed tubers from cuttings for further multiplication,” he said. Mohanty said so far, seven nurseries in Hassan and a few large potato farmers in Haryana have taken up producing ARCs from tissue culture plantlets. “The numbers in Karnataka and Haryana are expected to rise significantly in the coming season. Recently, we provided training to two nurseries with tissue culture facilities in Odisha to start producing ARCs in the coming season. They are expected to produce 5 to 10 lakh cuttings next season for further multiplication on their farms, with selling to other farmers or organizations interested in producing first-and second-generation potato seeds. We are partnering with the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) and horticulture departments in other states such as Assam, Bihar and Meghalaya to pilot and demonstrate the ARC technology to larger group of farmers and other organizations, interested in taking up cutting production and seed tuber multiplication,” he explained. If the government can provide some subsidy for setting up tissue culture laboratories and poly houses to interested individuals or organizations, the production can be scaled up further, he said. The combination of lower seed cost and higher yield will make potato cultivation more profitable for small and marginal farmers in the potato growing states, Samarendu Mohanty said.