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What is taro?
Commercial species of this species grow as a tuberous crop in all tropical regions and are especially important in the Pacific Islands.
According to the specifications mentioned by Purseglove about this botanical variety, the Egyptian taro (contrary to what is mentioned in the Arabic references) belongs to this botanical variety.
The plants of this plant variety grow wild in India and Southeast Asia, from which they moved east to China and Japan and west to the eastern Mediterranean region, from where they spread south to the rest of the African continent—mentioned by Pliny (23–79 BC) in Egypt.
The Greek name Colocasia is believed to be derived from the Arabic name Taro Golquas.
The plant is distinguished by a large central corm, often surrounded by a few small worms.
Commercial varieties differ in the inner color of the corm.
The leaf blade and veins may be white, pink, or yellow. There may be no purple spot on the upper surface of the leaf neck where it is attached to the blade. The leaf neck may be green to varying degrees, pink, crimson, almost black, or striped. The proportion of mucus in leaves and worms may also vary.
Primates of some varieties contain large amounts of calcium oxalate, which is eliminated when cooked.
B. C. esculenta var. antiquorum, formerly C. antiquorum, and C. esculenta var. globulifera This commercial variety of this plant variety grows in abundance in the West Indies. It was brought there from China, where it originated, to which all varieties of the Edo belong, and what is known in the southern United States as Dasheen, but in fact of the Eddo type, and entered the United States from Puerto Rico in 1905. She is originally from Trinidad.
The plants of this botanical variety are distinguished by producing a small central spherical corm and many lateral peduncles surrounding it. The creams are almost mucus-free.
Commercial varieties are distinguished by a purple spot on the upper surface of the leaf neck when it comes into contact with the blade. The inner color of the worm is white. One of its essential commercial cultivars is the Trinidad cultivar, widely grown in the United States (Purseglove 1972) and known in Egypt as the American cultivar.
It is clear from the above that the Egyptian taro belongs to the plant variety C. esculenta var. esculenta, while the American taro is followed by the American vegetable cultivar C. esculenta var. Antiquorum contrasts what is known about them with what is available to the author from Arabic references.
Uses and nutritional value of taro:
Taro is grown in Egypt for its corms, which are eaten after cooking. However, it is also used in tropical regions for various purposes, such as fresh salads, cooking young leaves, and using tiny plant buds before their leaves open and starch is extracted from the corms.
Taro is a vibrant vegetable in carbohydrates (23.7%) and niacin (1.1 mg/100 g). It also contains medium amounts of calcium (28 mg/100 g), phosphorous (61 mg/100 g), and iron (1 mg/100 g).
The percentage of dry matter in taro corms increases from the apical end towards the basal end and from the center of the corm towards the outside.
The distribution of starch is similar to that of dry matter, while the distribution of nitrogen and phosphorous is the opposite of that of dry matter.
Economic importance of taro:
The total area planted with taro in the world in 1987 amounted to about 988 thousand hectares, of which 792 thousand hectares were planted in Africa alone. The countries with the most cultivated areas were Nigeria (350 thousand hectares), Ivory Coast (205 thousand hectares), Ghana (123 thousand hectares), and China (92 thousand hectares).
Egypt was the only Arab country where taro was planted on 4,000 hectares. Among these countries, the highest productivity per hectare was in Egypt (30.0 tons), China (13.7 tons), and Nigeria (6.0 tons). The average global production reached 5.8 tons per hectare. The total area planted with taro in Egypt in 1988 amounted to about 7458 feddans, and the average feddan yield was 12.45 tons.
A Botanical Description of Taro
Botanical considerations and cultivation methods
Taro is a perennial plant that is renewed annually, and one or more buds grow from the buds on the seed piece. The taro vine is cut into more than one piece, each containing more than one bud. Water and nutrients, as well as the aerobic group that can carry out photosynthesis and other vital processes of the plant,
Corm:
The base of the stem is swollen and contains the characteristics of the stem, as it is divided into nodes and internodes. The leaves emerge from the nodes, and some lateral buds grow large, called a jaw.
Weather conditions suitable for planting taro:
Taro is a summer crop that does not tolerate frost, and taro needs high temperatures and a long day during the first and middle periods of growth to form the vegetative system, which suits the formation of corms in a short day at a low temperature.
Taro is grown in soils that retain moisture. It is a water-loving plant and does not thrive in sandy soils due to its high water needs.
Preparing the land for planting taro:
The land is prepared by plowing twice and crawling after each plowing, as well as the old.
Municipal fertilizer is added at 40 m3 per feddan
(4200 m) during the land preparation, 30 m3 during the acclimation process
(putting the plant in the middle of the line), and 10 m3 during July.
Amount of corms and seeds suitable for growing taro
The amount of seeds needed to grow a feddan depends on several factors, including the size of the seeds, the cultivation areas, and the land layout.
The feddan is planted with about 900–1000 kg per acre of corms and 900 kg by cultivation with jaws or cuttings, where each piece contains one or more buds by cutting the upper part (the terminal bud). Then, the rest of the pod is divided longitudinally so that each part contains 2-3 buds. The part containing the terminal bud is called the terminal apex, while the rest of the parts of the pod are called segments.
The following points must be taken into account when cutting:
The weight of the cultivated seed pieces must be between 30 and 40 g.
The seed piece should have 2–3 eyes.
The use of several sharp knives when cutting, with the use of a disinfectant such as alcohol, boiling water, etc., to prevent the transmission of diseases from infected tubers to healthy tubers
Cutting is done on the day of planting or one day before planting.
There is no difference in the yield of each of the terminal apex or the jaws about the cultivation, which with the jaws leads to obtaining a more significant number of corms in the hole than if planted in the terminal apex. The size of the corms is substantial, and in the case of the terminal apex, the number of corms is less. This is due to the apical dominance of the bud growth terminal and the delay in the growth of other lateral shoots.
Varieties of taro according to Egyptian agriculture:
There are two types of taro:
Egyptian taro and
The following characteristics can distinguish the Egyptian taro:
1. The corms contain a large amount of mucilage
2: The number of corms is small in each hole.
3: The size of the main vine is large.
4: The roots are pink.
5: There is a red substance in the cortex near the cortex.
6: The leaf blade is large and bright green.
7: There is no colored substance at the connection of the neck to the blade.
8: It lasts nine months from planting to harvest.
The American variety has the following characteristics:
1. The corms contain a small amount of mucilage
2: The number of corms in the gorge is significant, and there is no sizeable central corm.
3: The size of the corm is small.
4: The roots are white.
5: There is a whitish substance in the cortex near the cortex.
6: The leaves are small and dark green.
7: There is a purple substance between the neck and the blade.
8: It lasts seven months from planting to harvest.
Intercropping on taro and temporary cultivation:
Because the land cultivated with taro is occupied for 7-9 months, some farmers resort to exploiting the land in the first periods of taro growth with short-lived crops such as radish, kidney beans, cucumbers, mallow, and turnips. Loading experiments found that loading (beans-cucumbers) on the taro plant led to a decrease in the growth of the taro crop, and the decrease increased with the increase in the number of loaded plants.
The taro also decreased the growth of bean plants, while cucumber plants were not affected by the load on the taro plants.
The loading to stray should be carried out until July. At this time, the intensification process is carried out in a period in which the vegetative growth is still little in the plant's early life because in the second half, after the intensification procedure of the plant's life, its vegetative growth becomes abundant, and dense, which hinders the cultivation of these crops where the competition is intense. The downloading does not succeed during this period.
The date of the cultivation of taro in Egypt:
Taro is planted from mid-February for early planting until April for late planting, and March is considered the best time for planting.
The soil:
Taro is found in both types of yellow lands, which are fertile, well-drained, and somewhat loose and can retain moisture.
Crop Rotation:
Because taro is a stressful crop for the land, it is preferable to alternate taro cultivation on the ground with other less stressful crops.
The agricultural season lasts about nine months, and taro should not be planted in the same place until after 3–5 years, preferably the previous crop. Taro cultivation is a clover stirred into the ground because it increases soil fertility. Alfalfa increases nitrogen and humus in the soil, improving its natural qualities and renewing aeration.
Considering the preparation of the land before planting, sufficient time is ensured for the decomposition of organic matter, which leads to taro obtaining the nutrients it needs to thrive—the necessary nutrients in the first period of its life.
The method of reproduction in taro
The method of cultivation of taro:
The land is plowed 2-3 perpendicular times and crawls between each plowing and another, then municipal manure and superphosphate fertilizer are added before the last plow. Access to high places in the field.
Then, the land is divided and plotted at a rate of 9 lines per 2 stalks (the stalk is a unit of length equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet). Then, the planting is done by making a hole in the belly of the line to provide the moisture necessary for the seeds and deepening the hole 10–15 cm deep according to the gm of the seed piece and the distance between them, about 30–50 cm. The seeds are placed in the hole, with the buds facing upwards, and the seeds are then covered with a thickness of 5 cm of soil, and then the ground is irrigated directly.
Taro crop service operations
Hoeing:
Weeding is done superficially (scrabble) to get rid of weeds at the beginning of the plant's life because the roots are superficial during this period.
Patching:
The percentage of absent hollows in the case of planting by piece is about 4%, and grafting can be done after two months of planting.
Irrigation:
Irrigation is one of the critical factors for the success of the taro crop because the taro plant (half aqueous) needs abundant and close irrigation.
The length of irrigation periods depends on the weather and plant growth. The soil moisture should not be less than 70% of the soft water because of the lack of moisture in the soil. It causes a lack of yield, and the most need for soil moisture is at the stage of formation of the corms, and the least period of need is in the early growth periods of the plant's life as well as the last stages of the plant's life.
Taro is cultivated among banana trees in India. It is irrigated in irrigation channels because it is familiar with wetlands. The plants are irrigated immediately after planting and then after ten days. The first irrigation is light for fear of rotting the seeds, and then the plants are irrigated for the time being. The second is 10 to 15 days after the first irrigation.
Then, the irrigation is repeated after 4-5 days due to the high temperature and length of the day, the large size of the plant's leaves, and the increase in the amount of water lost through transpiration since the crop's growth is greatly affected if exposed to thirst.
Irrigation must be carried out during September and October every 15 days (between irrigations) to moderate weather conditions during the fall, and irrigation is prohibited 3 to 4 weeks before harvest to facilitate the uprooting of the crop from the soil.
Fertilization of the taro crop
Taro is a soil-stressed plant, as its fertilizer needs are a large amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
The nitrogen fertilizer increases the size of the plant's vegetative group, thus increasing the number and size of leaves. This results in the transfer of carbohydrates from the vegetative system to the corms.
Therefore, adding nitrogen in the early stages of the plant's life is recommended until a strong vegetative group is formed. This increases the metabolic surface and the amount of carbohydrates the crop makes. Corms do not store a large amount of starchy material.
Taro is a starchy crop that stores starchy materials in the corms. It was found that potassium increases the weight of the plant's vegetative group and the speed of metabolism, ultimately leading to an increase in the weight of the corms.
Taro plants in heavy soils respond to 200 kg of potassium sulfate per feddan.
An experiment was conducted on potassium fertilization and its effect on yield, corms, and starch content. Three levels of potassium fertilizer were used at rates of 0-48–96 units/feddan, and potassium fertilization significantly affected plant growth, fresh and dry weight of leaves, leaf area, and plant height.
Also, potassium fertilization up to 96 P2O5 units/feddan increased the fresh and dry weight of the plant corms and the total yield (tons/feddan). Potassium fertilization led to an increase in the diameter and length of the pods and an increase in the percentage of total sugars in the starch. Still, the increase in potassium fertilization led to protein deficiency and increased viscosity, which are undesirable traits and quality characteristics of taro corms.
The benefits of potassium for tuber crops are due to:
Storing carbohydrates (starch) inside the corms increases the weight of the marketable crop.
Achieving a fertilizer balance with significant elements (nitrogen and phosphorous) strengthens the vegetative system and thus increases yield.
The potassium concentration in taro corms varies, decreasing from the terminal top to the basal and increasing from the center of the corm to the crust. The potassium concentration in plant tissues decreases with age, which may be due to a decrease in the speed of potassium absorption.
Higher air temperatures increase the speed of potassium absorption. Under these conditions, the potassium content in plant tissues does not increase much because the increase in dry matter and the improvement of soil identity increase the uptake of potassium by plants.
Adding potassium and nitrogen is vital for each of them to do its job. Potassium is essential in reducing transpiration for the resulting dry matter, encouraging root growth, helping the plant reach its natural maturity, and reducing damage caused by fungal diseases.
Fertilizer application dates:
Organic fertilizers are used to prepare the land for planting in an area of 30 m3 so that there is an opportunity for analysis and benefit from the fertilizer when planting.
Phosphate fertilizer is added with it because it is slow in decomposition, and 10 m3 is added during the accumulating process in July. The dates for adding chemical fertilizers are in two batches: two equals, the first in May and the second in July.
Addition Amounts:
200 kg of calcium superphosphate (15% P2A5) per feddan 300 kg/acre of ammonium sulfate (20.5%).
Potassium sulfate (48%), 200 kg/feddan. Condensation (collecting the soil around the plants). This process occurs in July when 10 m3 of municipal fertilizer is placed. The second batch of chemical fertilizers (100 kg/feddan, calcium superphosphate, 150 kg/feddan, and ammonium sulfate) is placed in addition to potassium sulfate (100 kg/feddan), which is placed in the belly of the line around the plants.
The lines are then slashed with the ax, so the plants become in the middle of the line, and the land is irrigated afterward.
The stabilization process aims to find loose land for the growth of the corms, supply the plants with the necessary nutrients, and stabilize the plants in the soil.
Taro ripening:
The nutrients produced are transferred from the vegetative system to the corms during the plant's life. In the principle of plant life, the amount transferred to the corms is minimal and increases until the plant turns yellow.
The following operations are performed before harvesting:
Prevent watering 30–40 days before cutting until moisture is reduced and the husk hardens on the surface of the vine. Removing the vine from the soil is easy because wet soil disrupts the incision lines, making harvesting difficult and causing the vines to rot.
Remove the arbors by hand or machine at least three days before harvest, so the streaks are bare, making it easier to pull them out.
The collection should be done early in the morning so that the intense heat does not damage the crop, and the packaging should be done directly on the same day of collection.
When the machine is used for harvesting, the lines should be softened by deepening the plow's weapon below the level of the corms to reduce cuts or scrapes.
Some farmers harvest the taro before it is fully ripe to sell it at high prices at the beginning of the season.
Maturity signs in taro:
Withering and drying of the outer leaves. Harvesting is done with a fork or an axe. The capsule is gently removed from the ground so as not to cause abrasions or cuts. A few corms are removed. The jaws should be left in place and the roots removed to ensure that the corms are well formed.
The soil surrounding the stalk is removed, and the taro is usually packed from the field to be filled in containers (bags). It can also be replaced with plastic field cages, and a sorting process must be carried out to remove the injured and mold-infested corms.
Taro is processed and packed within 12 hours of harvest. It is dried to remove excess moisture and then sorted and packed.
Taro harvest:
This is usually done during October and November when October is for planting, which takes place in February (early). Harvesting and uprooting are done with the ax, starting with removing the width and then uprooting either with an ax or a plow, considering that the weapon is at an appropriate depth so as not to scratch the corms, causing them to rot. Then, the suspended dust is sorted and cleaned.
Sorting and grading of taro corms
The process begins by excluding corms infected with fungal or insect diseases and those infected or unsuitable. The corms are then listed by size, the jaws are separated, and they are stacked on screeds to perform the scaling (pre-treatment).
Packing:
The corms are packed in jute bags or nets with a capacity of 25 kg. Plastic or wooden boxes that are well-ventilated are preferred.
Yield Quantity:
The average yield of taro reaches 12 to 14 tons/feddan, depending on the soil type, seeds, and planting material, where early planting is preferred over late planting. In general, new strains of the local variety (Baladi taro) were selected, and the productivity of the feddan reached 20 tons/feddan.
Possibility of loss following harvest
1-Mechanical damage:
Mechanical damage to corms causes rapid natural damage because scratches and cuts cause exposure to microbial infection, so transportation must be extremely careful during harvesting and handling operations such as grading, packaging, and transportation.
2-Low temperature:
Storage at temperatures below nine °C causes damage, including cracking of the internal tissues, blackening, increased water loss, increased fungal decomposition, and a change in the characteristic flavor of taro worms.
3-Pathological damage:
Infection with microorganisms is the leading cause of worm infection after harvest, and most soil fungi cause the damage that appears on the surface of worms. The incidence of pathological damage is reduced by using appropriate treatments, handling methods, and good storage.
Storage of taro crops
The following must be observed when storing the crop:
Harvest at maturity should be suitable for storage to prevent deterioration and mold disease during storage.
Corms must be disease-free.
No cuts or scrapes should occur during collection to avoid increasing the likelihood of disease and a rapid increase in the respiration of the cricket.
Washing tuber vegetables is not recommended because mechanical damage cannot be avoided. Mechanical damage to worms leads to increased rot and water loss.
Taro lives a long time, which makes it easy to store for more than two months until the next planting date.
Storage methods:
1. Storage in the soil:
The farmer leaves the corms in the soil after their maturity in areas where rain does not fall during storage. When the corms are in the soil, irrigation is prevented so that sprouts or corms do not rot.
Taro corms are stored below 12°C with relative humidity levels of 80–90%. Under these conditions, taro corms remain in good shape for up to 4 weeks.
The following is taken this way:
Turn off the land for three months.
Corms are exposed to ground insects and rodents, which exposes them to damage.
2. Storage in air storage:
After the corms are cleaned and sorted, they are ventilated to dry and stored in well-ventilated stores for three days. However, storage in this way is for a period not exceeding ten weeks.
3. Storage in refrigerators:
This is done at a low temperature for up to six months, but this method is also expensive. If the temperature drops below two degrees Celsius, the sprouts die, and their germination rate decreases.
4. Storage in pits or trenches:
The pits or trenches are dug far from the groundwater level and lined with straw. The worms to be stored are placed in the straw and soil.
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