Dry matter accumulation and partitioning of two taro (Colocasia Esculenta (L.) Schott) cultivars under Inceptisol soils in Samoa

Abstract

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) crop is widely grown throughout the humid tropics for its edible leaves, petioles and corms. In this research total dry matter (DM) accumulation and its partitioning between different plant parts were studied to determine their growth pattern over the plants’ life cycle (i.e. 35, 70, 105, 140 and 175 days after planting (DAP). An experiment with randomised complete block design (RCBD) having five treatments (DAP) and three replications (blocks) was setup for each of the two improved taro cultivars (Samoa 1 and Samoa 2). After harvest dry matter of each taro plant was estimated for its five parts: leaf blades, petioles, corms, roots and suckers. The data analysis showed that in both the cultivars the DM accumulation and its partitioning to different plant parts (i.e. the leaf blades (LDM), petioles (PDM), roots (RDM), corms (CDM) and suckers (SDM)) varied significantly (p < 0.001) over the five growth stages of plant growth (DAP).