Bhu Sona
A dark-orange biofortified CTCRI variety released in 2017, with beta-carotene of 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g of fresh root. It is field-tolerant of sweet potato weevil and of salt stress.
Quick facts
- Type
- Vine cutting (biofortified variety)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 105–110 days
- Expected yield
- 20–24 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- Field-tolerant of sweet potato weevil; tolerant of salt stress (6–8 dS/m)
- Release
- Released in 2017 by ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram. A clonal selection from open-pollinated seedling progenies of an exotic source. CTCRI lists Odisha as its suggested growing region.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Bhu Sona is a dark-orange sweet potato released in 2017 by ICAR-CTCRI. The vine is spreading and purple, and the root is round to elliptic with yellow skin. The flesh is dark orange with beta-carotene of 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g of fresh root, which the ICAR list of biofortified varieties gives as 14.0 mg provitamin A per 100 g. Extractable starch is 19–20%. CTCRI lists it at 105–110 days and 20–24 t/ha, calls it field-tolerant of sweet potato weevil, and tolerant of salt stress of 6–8 dS/m. It is suitable for processing, and CTCRI suggests Odisha as the growing region.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Bhu Sona if you want orange flesh for vitamin A or for a processing buyer. It carries beta-carotene of 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g of fresh root, far above the pale-fleshed Sree varieties (800–1,200 IU), and gives 20–24 t/ha in 105–110 days. CTCRI suggests Odisha as the growing region. For a quicker, higher-yielding table root, pick Sree Arun or Sree Varun (20–28 t/ha in 90 days). For purple flesh, pick Bhu Krishna.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Dark-orange flesh with beta-carotene of 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g, a strong vitamin A source.
- Yields 20–24 t/ha in 105–110 days, more than Bhu Krishna and as much as most table varieties here.
- Field-tolerant of sweet potato weevil and of salt stress, per CTCRI.
Things to consider
- CTCRI suggests Odisha as the growing region. Plant a small plot first outside Odisha.
- Field trials elsewhere differ from CTCRI's figures. One Assam on-farm trial recorded 16.7 t/ha, and a Tripura trial 26.3 t/ha. Expect your own number to differ.
- The vitamin A figure is for fresh root. Cooking and storage change it, so do not promise a number to a buyer.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Odisha
How much more carotene than the pale varieties
The reason to grow Bhu Sona is the orange flesh. CTCRI lists its beta-carotene at 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g of fresh root.
Set that beside the other CTCRI sweet potatoes. Sree Vardhini is at 1,200 IU, and Sree Bhadra at 800–1,000 IU. Divide 19,100 by 1,200 and 20,800 by 800 and you get roughly 16 to 26 times more.
That is the number to put to a buyer who wants vitamin A, such as a school meal scheme, a baby-food maker or a health-food shop. For a buyer who only wants a sweet, mealy table root, it is not worth a premium. Ask which kind of buyer you have before you plant.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This crop is raised from cuttings, not from seed, so you can take your own planting material. Take cuttings only from healthy, well-grown plants that are true to the variety, and never from one that showed disease — a cutting carries its mother plant with it. Where a nursery or a government farm sells clean planting material, that is the safer start.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhu Krishna | Purple flesh and natural colour for processing, in Odisha | 110–120 days | 18–22 t/ha | Odisha |
| Bhu Sonathis page | Dark-orange flesh for vitamin A and processing, in Odisha | 105–110 days | 20–24 t/ha | Odisha |
| Rajendra Shakarkand-5 | A Bihar commercial variety to trial against Sree Bhadra, with no official figures yet | No official figure found | No official figure found | Bihar |
| Sree Arun | A 90-day table sweet potato for a short window between crops | 90 days | 20–28 t/ha (potential 30 t/ha) | Kerala |
| Sree Bhadra | A widely recommended 90-day table sweet potato that fits a nematode rotation | 90 days | 27 t/ha | Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh |
| Sree Vardhini | A purple-skinned, yellow-fleshed table sweet potato, an old dependable | 100–105 days | 20–25 t/ha (potential 25 t/ha) | Kerala |
| Sree Varun | A cream-skinned, high-starch 90-day table sweet potato | 90 days | 20–28 t/ha (potential 30 t/ha) | Kerala |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Sweet Potato (Shakarkand) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How much beta-carotene does Bhu Sona really have?
CTCRI gives 19,100–20,800 IU per 100 g of fresh root. The ICAR list of biofortified varieties gives the same trait as 14.0 mg provitamin A per 100 g. These are two ways of stating the same thing. For comparison CTCRI lists Sree Vardhini at 1,200 IU and Sree Bhadra at 800–1,000 IU.
How many days to harvest, and what yield?
CTCRI gives 105–110 days and 20–24 t/ha. Planted on 1 July, harvest falls between about 14 and 19 October.
Can I grow Bhu Sona outside Odisha?
CTCRI suggests Odisha. Trials elsewhere exist: an Assam on-farm trial recorded 16.7 t/ha and a Tripura trial 26.3 t/ha, so results vary widely. Try a small plot before planting a big area.
Does Bhu Sona tolerate salt and weevil?
CTCRI says it tolerates salt stress of 6–8 dS/m and is field-tolerant of sweet potato weevil. That helps in lightly saline coastal soil, but use clean vine cuttings and earth up the ridges all the same.
Sourced from: Bhu Sona — ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute variety datasheet, Biofortified varieties — ICAR. editorial policy.