Sree Varun
A 90-day CTCRI variety released in 2002 with cream skin, cream flesh and smooth fusiform to spherical roots. CTCRI lists 20–28 t/ha (potential 30 t/ha) and Kerala uplands as its region.
Quick facts
- Type
- Vine cutting (improved variety)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 90 days
- Expected yield
- 20–28 t/ha (potential 30 t/ha)
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance listed by CTCRI
- Release
- Released in 2002 by ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram. A seedling selection from seed obtained from CIP, Peru (seed lot CIP 490056, 1991). CTCRI lists the uplands of Kerala as its suggested region.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Sree Varun is a short-duration sweet potato released in 2002 by ICAR-CTCRI, alongside Sree Arun. It comes from a seedling selection of seed obtained from CIP, Peru in 1991. The plant is spreading and flowers freely, and the leaves are slightly five-lobed. The roots are fusiform, short to spherical, with cream skin, cream rind and cream flesh, and starch of 20.6–21.5%. CTCRI notes good cooking quality and lists 90 days and 20–28 t/ha, with a potential of 30 t/ha. The suggested region is the uplands of Kerala.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Varun if you want a 90-day sweet potato with cream skin and flesh and a bit more starch (20.6–21.5%) than Sree Arun (19.7–20.4%). Both give 20–28 t/ha, so pick by the skin colour your market likes. CTCRI lists the uplands of Kerala as the region. For orange flesh choose Bhu Sona, for purple Bhu Krishna.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Short duration: 90 days, so the field is free sooner.
- 20–28 t/ha listed, with a potential of 30 t/ha.
- The highest starch of the pair with Sree Arun (20.6–21.5%), and good cooking quality.
Things to consider
- CTCRI suggests the uplands of Kerala. Plant a small plot first elsewhere.
- No weevil or nematode tolerance is listed for it. Use clean vine cuttings and earth up the ridges.
- Cream flesh with no carotene figure, so it is not the vitamin A variety. Choose Bhu Sona for that.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
Two near-twins: how to be sure which one you have
Sree Varun and Sree Arun were released together in 2002 and look alike: 90 days, 20–28 t/ha, a spreading vine, cream flesh. Cuttings change hands without labels, so mix-ups happen.
CTCRI gives you two checks on the root. Sree Varun has cream skin and cream rind. Sree Arun has very pale pink skin. Starch also differs: 20.6–21.5% for Varun and 19.7–20.4% for Arun, though you cannot see that without a test.
Before you plant a large area, dig two or three roots from a sample plot of the cuttings you were sold, and look at the skin. If the skin colour is not what you paid for, go back to the nursery. The yield figures are close, so the real risk is not yield but selling a root that the market does not recognise.
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-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 Varunthis page | 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
Where did Sree Varun come from?
CTCRI lists it as a seedling selection from seed obtained from CIP (International Potato Center), Peru, in 1991 (seed lot CIP 490056). It was released in 2002 together with Sree Arun.
What yield and duration does Sree Varun have?
CTCRI lists 90 days and 20–28 t/ha, with a potential of 30 t/ha. The potential is the best-case figure, so plan on the lower numbers.
What does the root look like?
CTCRI describes fusiform, short to spherical roots with cream skin, cream rind and cream flesh. Starch is 20.6–21.5% and cooking quality is good.
Sree Varun or Sree Bhadra?
Both take about 90 days. Sree Bhadra is listed at 27 t/ha, for four states (Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh), and CTCRI notes it as a trap crop for root-knot nematode. Sree Varun is listed at 20–28 t/ha for the uplands of Kerala. If nematodes are your problem, look at Sree Bhadra.
Sourced from: Sree Varun — ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute variety datasheet. editorial policy.