Climate-resilient and biofortified tuber crop varieties

Abstract

Climate vagaries have hitherto challenged tuber crop production and productivity worldwide. Tropical tuber crops such as cassava, yams, sweet potato, aroids, and minor tuber crops play a crucial role in food and nutritional security in resource-poor regions. Although tuber crops possess inherent resilience to harsh climatic conditions, which designates them as ‘climate-smart’, harnessing the potential relies upon strategic breeding approaches to develop more resilient varieties. Tuber crops, also known as a poor man’s crop, are rich in antioxidants (anthocyanin), micronutrients (iron and zinc), and vitamins (Via. A, and B9-folate). These crops have the potential to mitigate hidden hunger, also known as micronutrient malnutrition, a serious global issue affecting one-third of the world’s population. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widespread in low-income tropical regions, which has driven a series of efforts toward the biofortification of plant-derived foods with provitamin A carotenoids (mainly β-carotene), promoting ‘golden’ crops. This article depicts a bird’s-eye view of the breeding strategies undertaken at ICAR-CTCRI to develop climate-resilient and biofortified tuber crop varieties to address food and nutritional security under changing climatic conditions.