| BRIEF DESCRIPTION A herb growing up to 1.25 m in height. Its tubers are large, flattened yellow or brown, 20-25 cm in diameter, with central depression. The tubers are formed underground, 5-10 being produced from the main tuber. The leaf blads are 30-80 cm in length with a 50-80 cm long petiole. USES The tubers of cultivars with smooth leaf stalks are used as boiled vegetable, the calcium oxalate crystals present are removed by extensive washing or boiling. The young petrioles are used as a cooked vegetable. GROWING PERIOD Perennial herb. The crop matures in 220-350 days. The corms have a dormancy period of 60-90 days, and after 3 years of growth, the corms weigh 7-9 kg and are marketable. COMMON NAMES Elephant yam, Elephant foot yam, Giantarum, Sweet yam, Suran, Arsaghna, Balukund, Kidaran, Telinga potato, Zaminkund, Chena, Karak-kavanai, Ilis-ilis, Kand godda, Sooweg, Waloor, Anto, Oroy, Pangapong, Tigi, Koe, Konjac, Konniaku, Mo-yu. FURTHER INF Synonym: Amorphophallus campanulatus. Elephant yam grows wild in southeast Asia, extending to Java, the Philippines and the Pacific. Most production occurs at altitudes below 1000 m. Yields of 20 t/ha have been reported from India. |
SOURCES E400
Tindall H 1983 pp 50-52 [FER, DEP, TEXT, PH, DRA, TEMP, RAIN]
Purseglove 1972 pp 59 [USE, LIMIT]
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