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Cultivation of Edible Arum or Arvi in India ; A complete Information Guide

January 28, 2021May 3, 2023 Agrovista 0 Comments

Cultivation of Edible Arum or Arvi in India; A complete Information Guide

Edible Arum or Arvi (Colocasia esculenta L.) is also known as ‘ taro’ It is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the family Araceae. Edible arum is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible rootstocks, but the leaves and its young stalks are also cooked and used like spinach. It is somewhat sweeter and easily cooked than potato.

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The flesh is mealy and posses a delicate nutty flavor when cooked. The tubers are peeled, sliced, cooked, and taken with condiments and adjuncts. It gives more yields within four to six months.

Edible arum is a native of South-Eastern Asia. and its original home is probably India.

Nutritive Value of Arum or Arvi

The nutritive value of edible arum in 100 gm of the edible portion is given below;

Nutrient	Value	Nutrient	Value
Energy	97 Kcal	Vitamin C	Traces
Water	73.1g	Mineral	1.7 g
Carbohydrate	22.1 mg	Fiber	1 g
Protein	3 mg	Calcium	40 mg
Fat	0.1 g	Phosphorus	140 mg
Vitamin A	40 IU	Iron	0
Vitamin B	80 IU	Magnesium	0

Soil and its preparation for Aum or Arvi Cultivation;

Loam, clay-loam, and silt loam soils with an optimum range of pH between 5.5 to 7 are quite favorable for their cultivation. The land is prepared in the same way as the potato.

Climate Requrirement for Arum or Arvi Cultivation;

Arum or Arvi is a warm-season crop. It may be grown as a summer as well as rainy season crop. Warm and moist weather is favorable for its cultivation. It can be grown successfully in the area where the average mean temperatures are between 21 to 27- degrees celsius with a well-distributed rainfall of up to 1000 mm.

Important Varieties of Arum or Arvi;

Panchmukhi, Kali, Dhali, CO-1, Nadia Local, Punjab Arvi-1, Satmukhi(kovvur), Sree Kiran, Sree Pallavi, Sree Rashmi, C-13, C-35, Bilas Puri, etc. are the important varieties of Edible arum.

Sowing of the Arum or Arvi;

(a) Time of sowing. The summer crop is sown in February March and the rainy season crop in June-July.
(b) Seed rate. The seed rate is 3.0 to 3.5 quintal per acre,
(c) Method of sowing. Corms, cormel (lateral tubers), or headset are used as planting materials. Arvi is planted in-furrow made by country plough at a distance of 60 to 70 cm and the seed is sown 30 cm apart in the row. The healthy seed having 28 gm weight was found more economical.

Manuring in Arum or Arvi Crop;

Apply 6 tonnes of FYM per acre, 5 kg of nitrogen7.5 kg of Phosphorous, and 15 kg of potassium per acre as a basal dose, and 5 kg of nitrogen,7.5 kg of Phosphorous,15 kg of potassium per acre after 45 days after the planting.

Intercultural operations in Arum or Arvi Crop;
One or two shallow hoeings may be given within 45 to 60 days after the planting to control the weeds and to make the soil loose. The plants should be earthed up twice to cover the open roots and cormels. Periodical removal of side shoots and keeping only one or two main shoots increases the yield considerably.

Irrigation Requirement in Arum or Arvi Crop;

Arvi requires much water during its life cycle. At the time of planting, there should be enough moisture in the field. The summer crop is irrigated every fourth day and the rainy season crop during the dry spells and once in 10 days after the rainy season.

How and when Harvest Arum or Arvi Crop ;

Arvi matures in about 180 to 190 days after the sowing. One month prior to harvest, all the suckers should be wrapped around the base of the mother plant and covered with soil by earthing up, for arresting further vegetative growth and sprouting of tubers.

After this, irrigation has to be withheld to hasten maturity. Harvesting is done by carefully uprooting the plants and the mother corms and cormels are separated.The crops are harvested by a spade.