Recent Advances in Root and Tuber Crops

Contents: 1. Improved potato varieties for different agro-ecologies of India. 2. Bio fortification in sweet potato for health and nutrition security. 3. Targeted breeding for processing traits in sweet potato for varied end uses. 4. Postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) – insights and breeding potential. 5. Breeding for drought tolerance in cassava. 6. Breeding for drought tolerance in sweet potato (ipomoea batatas L.). 7. Recent advances in Indian potato production technologies. 8. Quality planting materials production of tropical tuber crops. 9. Recent advances in the integrated nutrient management practices of tropical tuber crops for doubling farmer’s income. 10. Different weed control approaches in tropical tuber crops. 11. Recent advancements in integrated management of potato diseases. 12. Insect pest of potato ecosystem and their integrated management. 13. Important pests and their management in tropical tuber crops. 14. Integrated disease management in tropical tuber crops. 15. Role of biotechnological approaches in disease management. 16. Post-harvest management, value addition and processing of potato. 17. Primary and secondary processed value added food products from cassava. 18. Tapioca: processing and storage. 19. Sweet potato (ipomoea batatas L.): nutritional importance and value addition. 20. Nutritional importance and value addition of elephant foot yam and taro. 21. Industrial products from tropical tuber crops. Root and tuber crops (RTCs) were first domesticated several thousand years ago and eventually became a staple food for the poorest farmers and households of the tropical and subtropical countries. Currently, RTCs serve as staple food (either primary form or modified form) for more than 2.2 billion population across the globe. RTCs are the third most important food crops after cereals and legumes. Potato along with cassava, sweet potato and yams rank among the top 15 crop plants of the world concerning cropping area. Potato is found in almost every household of the globe. Cassava is the most important root and tuber crop in the tropics where it is a primary staple food in many of the poorest countries, and the sweet potato is also a food staple in Asia, Africa and America. Yams are also important staple food crops in tropical and subtropical regions. Although Taro and Cocoyam are minor crops, they do provide staple food for poor people in Africa, Asia and America. Apart from the food source, RTCs serve as animal feed and fuel source. Conventional breeding methods have succeeded in improving productivity but modern breeding techniques have succeeded in reducing the breeding cycle to some extent. The proposed book also deals with the advance plant production systems, plant protection technologies and postharvest management aspects of important root and tuber crops: potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), yams (Dioscorea spp.), elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson), taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.) and tannia/cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.).…