Taro yield and dry matter distribution under upland conditions in Puerto Rico

African Crop Science Journal,Vol. 4. No. 3, pp. 289-294, 1996 Taro yield and dry matter distribution under upland conditions in Puerto Rico R. GOENAGA Code Number: CS96068 Sizes of Files: Text: 14.4K Graphics: Line drawings (gif) - 6.5K Tables (jpg) - 229K ABSTRACT Yield performance of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), has received limited research attention, particularly under intensive cropping systems needed to meet demands of a growing population and supply corms for export markets. Four taro cultivars were evaluated for yield and dry matter distribution at two locations in Puerto Rico. Averaged across locations and cultivars, leaves, petioles, roots, corms, and suckers represented about 3%, 6%, 2%, 37%, and 52%, respectively, of the total plant dry matter. At both locations, cultivar Lila showed highest fresh corm yield (19,533 kg ha^-1), corm dry matter yield (6,648 kg ha^-1), and harvest index (0.49) among the cultivars studied. This formation is valuable for the development of an upland taro industry. Key Words: Colocasia esculenta, corm yield RESUME La performance en rendement de taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) a recu une attention limitee, en particulier dans les systemes de culture intensive qui ont pour but de satisfaire la demande en recolte d'une population croissante et de fournir des bulbes pour les marches etrangers. Quatre varietes de taro ont ete evaluees a deux endroits differents de Porto Rico pour examiner leur rendement et leur distribution en matiere seche. En moyenne, compte tenu des differences de sites et de varietes, les feuilles, les tiges, les racines, les bulbes et les surgeons representent respectivement 3%, 6%, 2%, 37%, et 52% du total de la matiere seche de la plante. A chaque endroit, la variete Lila a donne un rendement plus eleve en bulbes frais (19,533 kg par hectare), en matiere seche de bulbes (6,648 kg par hectare), et en indice de recolte (0.49), entre les varietes etudiees. Ce renseignement est utile pour le developpement de l'industrie du taro. Mots Cles: Colocasia esculenta, rendement Copyright 1996 The African Crop Science Societ