Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
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A. campanulata |
Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolious (Dennst.) Nicolson (Araceae) is a tropical tuber crop that offers excellent scope for adoption in the tropical countries as a cash crop due to its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various delicious cuisines. Elephant foot yam is basically a crop from south east Asian origin. It grows in wild form in Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and south eastern Asian countries.
EFY Pictures [1]
In India, it is commonly known as "Suran" or "Jimmikand". It is traditionally cultivated on commercial scale in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala states whereas in northern and eastern states, local cultivars grown in wild form are generally used for making vegetables, pickles and indigenous Ayurvedic preparations for various ailments. The tubers of wild plants are highly acrid and cause irritation in throat and mouth due to excessive amount of calcium oxalate present in the tubers.
The most popular variety for commercial cultivation in India is “Gajendra”, which is a local selection from Kovuur area of Andhra Pradesh. This variety has been released for all India cultivation. It is non-acrid and does not cause any irritation while eating. The production potential of this variety is very high (50-60 t/ha) and the tubers are in great demand. In India, Elephant foot yam cultivation is slowly spreading to other States also, like West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and so on. This crop also offers excellent export potential from India, since it is not generally cultivated commercially in other countries. However, there is a great scope for adoption of Elephant Foot Yam cultivation in other countries also where climatic conditions are similar.
Elephant foot yam is one of the nutritious crops containing 79% moisture, 1.2g protein,0.1g fat, 18.4g carbohydrates, 0.8g minerals and fibers each, 50 mg calcium, 34 mg phosphorus, 0.6 mg iron , 260 IU vitamin A, 0.006 mg thiamine,0.7 mg niacin and 0.7 mg riboflavin per 100g of fresh tuber. Many indigenous Ayurvedic and Unani medicinal preparations are also made using its tubers. The tubers are believed to have blood purifier property and are used in medicines for piles, Asthma, dysentery and other abdominal disorders.
