KUFRI THAR-3: A WATER USE EFFICIENT MEDIUM MATURING POTATO VARIETY FOR NORTH INDIAN PLAINS

Abstract

A new high yielding medium maturing white tuber potato variety Kufri Thar-3 was bred for cultivation in
northern plains of India. At most of the places, Kufri Thar-3 gave higher yield than the best medium maturing cultivars.
This variety performed well both under early-medium (75 days) and medium (90 days) crop durations. This variety was
recommended for release for Transgangetic plains, Upper Gangetic plains, Eastern plateau and hills region. Specific areas
for its adaptation are Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This variety is likely to be a good replacement for medium
maturing cultivars like Kufri Pukhraj. An important feature of this variety is that it is a water use efficient variety. This
variety has better yield performance both under normal and water stress conditions. Under water stress condition, the yield
of Kufri Thar-3 was 22.2% higher than control. Under normal irrigation treatment, Kufri Thar-3 gave 22.3% higher yield than
control. Based on mean of all trials Kufri Thar-3 saved 38.2 liters water per kilogram of tuber produced which is 26.8% less
water requirement than control.