Rajendra Shakarkand-5
A Bihar sweet potato named from the Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa line. No official datasheet with its release year, days or yield was found, so the figures here are limited to what could be confirmed.
Quick facts
- Type
- Vine cutting (improved variety)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- No official figure found
- Expected yield
- No official figure found
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance claimed
- Release
- Named in a sweet potato overview as a Bihar variety used for commercial production (Rajendra Sakarkand-5). No official release year or notification was found.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Rajendra Shakarkand-5 is a sweet potato grown in Bihar, named after the Rajendra Agricultural University at Pusa, which is now part of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University. A sweet potato overview lists Rajendra Sakarkand-5 among the cultivars used for commercial production in Bihar, alongside Pusa Safed and Pusa Red. No official datasheet could be found for it, so its duration, yield, skin colour, flesh colour and disease reaction are not stated. Treat any such number on a seed packet as the seller's claim. The CTCRI varieties have published datasheets and are a firmer basis for comparison.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Rajendra Shakarkand-5 only if your local dealers already sell it and your buyers know it, since no official datasheet exists to back its days, yield or colour. Grow it beside Sree Bhadra, which CTCRI recommends for Bihar at 90 days and 27 t/ha, and keep records of days to harvest and weight of roots from each. Decide the larger planting from your own numbers.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Named as a Bihar commercial variety, so planting material may be easier to find locally than the CTCRI varieties.
- Already grown in Bihar, so you can see it in neighbouring fields before you decide.
Things to consider
- No official datasheet was found, so its duration, yield, skin and flesh colour are all unconfirmed. Numbers are left out rather than guessed.
- Run a trial before a large planting. Put it beside a CTCRI variety such as Sree Bhadra (recommended for Bihar, 90 days, 27 t/ha) and compare root weight, colour and days.
- No weevil or nematode tolerance is documented for it. Use clean vine cuttings and earth up the ridges.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Bihar
No datasheet: run a side-by-side trial first
For this variety there is no official datasheet with days, yield or colour. Every number you hear for it, from a dealer or a packet, is a claim.
So test it the cheap way. Plant one strip of Rajendra Shakarkand-5 and one strip of Sree Bhadra on the same day, in the same soil, with the same water and manure. Sree Bhadra is the comparison because CTCRI lists it for Bihar at 90 days and 27 t/ha.
Write down the planting date, the day you dig, the number of roots per plant and the weight of roots from each strip. After one season you will know which one earns more on your land. If Rajendra Shakarkand-5 loses, you have lost a strip, not a field.
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 Sona | Dark-orange flesh for vitamin A and processing, in Odisha | 105–110 days | 20–24 t/ha | Odisha |
| Rajendra Shakarkand-5this page | 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
Is there an official yield figure for Rajendra Shakarkand-5?
None was found. No datasheet from the releasing university or from ICAR gave its yield, days or colour. They are therefore left out, and you should treat figures on a packet as the seller's claim.
How can I compare it with a CTCRI variety?
Plant a strip of each on the same day in the same soil with the same water. Note the planting date, the day you dig and the weight of roots per strip. Sree Bhadra is a good comparison because CTCRI lists it for Bihar at 90 days and 27 t/ha.
Which university does Rajendra Shakarkand-5 come from?
The name points to the Rajendra Agricultural University at Pusa in Bihar, which is now part of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University. No official page confirming the release was found.
Which sweet potato has a published datasheet for Bihar?
Sree Bhadra. CTCRI lists Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh for it, with 90 days and 27 t/ha, light pink skin and cream flesh. It is also noted as a trap crop for root-knot nematode.
Sourced from: Sweet Potato — overview slides (Rajendra Sakarkand-5 named for Bihar). editorial policy.