Genetic Resources of Tuber Crops in Tripura and Tuber Crop Based Ethnic Foods

Abstract

The climatic and topographical conditions of Tripura are very much suitable for the existence of widerange of variability in tuber crops. Elephant foot yam var. Tripura Batema and Gajendra performed wellin terms of tuber diameter, tuber length and yield with respective values of 30.4 cm and 30.1 cm,13.7 cm and 13.5 cm and 6.7 kg/plant and 6.4 kg/plant. Tubers of some wild species of elephantfoot yams such asAmorphophallus bulbifer(Roxb.) Blume are extremely acrid. Tuber length of greateryam var. Tripura Tha is 54.0 cm with 14.6 cm diameter.Dioscorea buliferaL.,D. hamiltoniiHook. FandD. pentaphyllaL. are other wild types of yams. Variability in both eddoe and bunda type taro hasalso been recorded, where, corm weight and yield in the eddoe type selections ranged from 24.0-54.2g and 4.3-11.6 t/ha, respectively. Plant height, rhizome length and rhizome weight in differentlocal types of swamp taro were in the range of 70.2-153.2 cm, 20.6-62.0 cm and 300 g - 5.9 kg/plant, respectively. Stolons of both common taro and swamp taro are very much popular as ethnicfood. Giant taro (Steudnera colocasioidesHook. f.) is locally known asBish Kochuand big rooted taroor elephant ear (Alocasia macrorrhizos(L.) G. Don, Schott.), locally known asMan KochuorFenKochu.Respective plant height is 195.5 and 231 cm and rhizome length is 85.6 and 110.6 cm withgirth 41.3 and 55.5 cm. Tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifoliumL.(Schott),X. violaceum(L.) Schott) andBengal Arum (Typhonium trilobatum(L.) Schott) are the other commonly found minor tuber crops.Various ethnic food preparations in combination with meat, fish or dry fish are very much popularamong the tribal communities.