My elephant foot yam corms rot in patches, especially after heavy rain. The soil is on the heavier side. How do I prevent this rot?
2 Answers
Corm rot in elephant foot yam is mostly a drainage and seed-corm health problem. Suran hates waterlogging, so heavy soil plus heavy rain is the classic cause. Practical steps: plant on raised mounds or ridges so water drains away from the corm, improve the soil with plenty of organic matter to open it up, never plant in a low spot that holds water, and use only healthy, undamaged seed corm because cut surfaces and wounds let rot organisms in. Let cut seed pieces heal and dry before planting and many farmers treat cut surfaces with cow dung-ash paste or a recommended treatment. Remove and destroy rotting corms quickly. For any specific seed treatment or fungicide, follow label directions and check the current recommendation with your KVK.
Mounds fixed it for me in Muzaffarpur. The year I planted flat in heavy soil I lost a lot of corms after the monsoon. Now everything goes on raised mounds and I keep the field draining.