Sree Apoorva
A 2014 triploid cassava from ICAR-CTCRI with stable high extractable starch, but the bulletin gives 30.10% and the web page 33.30%. 35-40 t/ha in 10 months. The states also differ between the two CTCRI sources.
Quick facts
- Type
- Stem cutting (clonal planting material)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 10 months (CTCRI bulletin)
- Expected yield
- 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 37.60 t/ha (CTCRI web page)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 2014 · ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram (CTCRI bulletin, Table 3); central release recommended on 7 October 2013 (CTCRI web page)
About this variety
Sree Apoorva is a triploid cassava variety released in 2014 by ICAR-CTCRI. CTCRI's bulletin describes a tall, top-branching plant with a stout, yellowish-brown stem, greenish purple emerging leaves and thick, broad leaves of 7-9 lobes. The tubers are long and cylindrical with brown skin, cream rind and white flesh. It takes 10 months, gives 35-40 t/ha, and has stable and high extractable starch, listed at 30.10%. CTCRI's older web page gives 37.60 t/ha and 33.30% starch, a non-branching or top-branching habit, big tubers suited to starch extraction and cooking, and says it was recommended for central release in the 21st meeting of the Central Sub-Committee on 7 October 2013.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Apoorva if you sell to a starch factory in Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh and want a triploid whose extractable starch holds steady. CTCRI released it in 2014, 10 months, 35-40 t/ha, tall and top-branching with big, long, cylindrical brown-skinned tubers. Check the starch figure with your buyer, because the two CTCRI sources disagree: the bulletin says 30.10% and the older web page says 33.30% with 37.60 t/ha. They also differ on the states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the bulletin, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the web page. Use 30.10%, the lower figure, to plan.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeMay-June with the south-west monsoon, or September-October with the north-east monsoon; December-January if irrigated (CTCRI).
- SpacingBranching types: 90 x 90 cm in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, 90 x 75 cm in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh (CTCRI Table 7). About 2,500 stems a hectare at 90 x 90 cm.
- Sowing methodCut setts of 15-20 cm with about five nodes from mature, healthy stems 2-3 cm thick, discard the top third, and plant them vertically 5 cm deep, one sett to a mound (CTCRI). Good planting stakes show latex at the cut end.
- FertilizerCTCRI: 12.5 t/ha FYM and 100:50:100 kg N:P2O5:K2O. Put all the phosphorus and half the nitrogen and potash on at planting, and the rest at 45-60 days with weeding.
- HarvestingHarvest at the listed duration, 10 months.
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Well-drained loam; saline, alkaline and ill-drained soils are not suitable, and cassava cannot thrive on waterlogged soil (CTCRI)
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
10 months (CTCRI bulletin)
Expected yield
35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 37.60 t/ha (CTCRI web page)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- Cassava mosaic disease (CMD), spread by whitefly and by infected cuttings
- Cercospora leaf spot
- Tuber rot in waterlogged soil
Major pests
Management notes
- Use clean stakes only: CTCRI allows 0.10% mosaic-affected plants in foundation seed and 0.50% in certified seed, so take stakes from a crop with no mosaic and pull out any diseased plant early.
- Keep two sprouts on each plant: nip off the extra sprouts 10-15 days after sprouting and keep two on opposite sides, which means more tubers per plant (CTCRI).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A triploid with stable, high extractable starch.
- Big, long, cylindrical tubers, easy to peel and harvest.
- 35-40 t/ha in 10 months.
Things to consider
- The two CTCRI sources differ on starch (30.10 or 33.30%), yield and states.
- A long 10-month crop.
- No disease rating published.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Tamil Nadu
- Andhra Pradesh
- Kerala
Two starch figures: 30.10% or 33.30%
A starch factory pays on starch content, so the figure matters in rupees. CTCRI's bulletin gives Sree Apoorva 30.10%. The older CTCRI web page gives 33.30% and 37.60 t/ha. The difference is 3.2 percentage points. On 37 tonnes a hectare, that is the gap between about 11.1 and about 12.3 tonnes of starch, by our arithmetic, though a factory rarely recovers all of it.
Do not choose the figure that suits you. Take 30.10% for planning, since it is the more recent bulletin and the lower of the two. When you deliver, ask the factory for its own test on your lot and for the price per percentage point. Sree Athulya, CTCRI's other 2014 triploid, shows a similar gap between the same two sources. Then keep your own record of starch and yield for the first two crops.
Can you save seed from this crop?
Cassava is planted from stem cuttings, not seed. Take stakes from a healthy crop of 6-7 months for a short-duration variety or 9-10 months for a long one, keep them upright in shade, and avoid damaging the nodes in transport. The same variety gets weaker if you keep re-using stakes from poor plants, so refresh your planting material from a clean source now and then.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Tapioca (Cassava) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-165 | Tamil Nadu, 8-month industrial | 8 months (CTCRI); 8-9 months (ISTI portal) | 33-38 t/ha | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka |
| H-226 | Starch and sago, Tamil Nadu | 10 months (CTCRI and ISTI portal) | 30-35 t/ha | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka |
| H-97 | Dry-land farms in four southern states that want a drought-tolerant, high-starch, long-tested variety for factory sale | 10 months (CTCRI bulletin and Indian Horticulture 2025) | 25-35 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh |
| Sree Apoorvathis page | Starch-factory farms in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh that want a stable, high extractable starch triploid | 10 months (CTCRI bulletin) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 37.60 t/ha (CTCRI web page) | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala |
| Sree Athulya | High-starch triploid, irrigated plains | 10 months (CTCRI bulletin) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI); 39.00 t/ha (ISTI portal) | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh |
| Sree Harsha | Starch-factory farms in Kerala and Tamil Nadu that are paid by the percentage of starch | 10 months (CTCRI bulletin and Indian Horticulture 2025) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin and Indian Horticulture 2025) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Jaya | Best-cooking six-month crop | 6-7 months | 26-30 t/ha | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Kaveri | Industrial cassava farmers in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala who want mosaic resistance and a high yield | 9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin); 10 months (Indian Horticulture 2025) | 40-50 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 50 t/ha (Indian Horticulture 2025) | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala |
| Sree Padmanabha | Rainfed Kerala and irrigated Tamil Nadu farms in mosaic-prone areas that want a proven, older resistant variety | 9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin); 270-300 days (CTCRI web page) | 29-30 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 38 t/ha (CTCRI web page) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Pavithra | Low-potash soils, cooking | 9-10 months | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI); 35-45 t/ha in a review table | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Prabha | Mixed-use farms in four states that want a medium-height variety for both lowland and upland | 9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh |
| Sree Prakash | Kerala lowland and paddy-rotation farms that want a quick, 7-month cassava | 7 months (CTCRI bulletin and web page) | 30-35 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin and web page) | Kerala |
| Sree Rekha | Mixed upland and lowland | 8-10 months (CTCRI variety page); 9-10 in the bulletin | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 45-48 t/ha (CTCRI variety page, review table and ISTI portal) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka |
| Sree Reksha | Kerala and Tamil Nadu farms that sell cassava to eat and want mosaic resistance and a longer shelf life after harvest | 8-9 months (CTCRI bulletin and Indian Horticulture 2025) | 40-45 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 45-50 t/ha (Indian Horticulture 2025) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Sahya | Farms in dry or mixed conditions across many states that want high starch and a dependable, old variety | 10-11 months (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Andhra Pradesh |
| Sree Sakthi | Industrial cassava farms in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala where mosaic disease is severe | 9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin) | 40-45 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin) | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala |
| Sree Suvarna | Farms that want a short, mosaic-proof cassava with low cyanogen for fresh use | 7-8 months (CTCRI bulletin) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |
| Sree Swarna | Kerala farms that sell cassava to eat and want a yellow-fleshed, early-bulking type | 7-8 months (CTCRI bulletin); early bulking at 7 months (CTCRI web page) | 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 40 t/ha (CTCRI web page) | Kerala |
| Sree Vijaya | Six-month crop after rice | 6 months (CTCRI variety page); 6-7 or 7 months in other CTCRI documents | 25-28 t/ha | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| Sree Visakham | Farms in many states, including Assam and the north-east, that want an old, widely grown, yellow-fleshed cassava | 10 months (CTCRI bulletin and web page) | 35-38 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 35-38 t/ha (CTCRI web page) | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Andhra Pradesh |
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 Tapioca (Cassava) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Tapioca (Cassava) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Tapioca (Cassava) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Tapioca (Cassava) 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 Tapioca (Cassava) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Tapioca (Cassava) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sree Apoorva?
A triploid cassava variety released in 2014 by ICAR-CTCRI. It takes 10 months, gives 35-40 t/ha and has stable and high extractable starch (30.10% in the bulletin).
What does triploid mean for a farmer?
It means the plant has three sets of chromosomes instead of two, which in CTCRI's triploids gives stable, high extractable starch. You still plant stem cuttings as usual. Triploids such as Sree Harsha flower shyly, so seed is not the way to multiply them.
Which states is Sree Apoorva for?
CTCRI's bulletin says Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The older web page says Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Tamil Nadu is common to both, so that is the safest state; elsewhere, ask CTCRI or your KVK.
Sree Apoorva or Sree Athulya?
Both are 2014 triploids of 10 months and 35-40 t/ha. In the bulletin Apoorva has 30.10% starch and is top-branching, while Athulya has 30.20%, is erect-branching and is drought tolerant. They are very close; choose on stake availability and the factory's price.
Sourced from: Cassava (variety descriptions, Table 3; spacing, Table 7; planting stakes and seed standards) — ICAR-CTCRI, Cassava varieties developed by CTCRI — ICAR-CTCRI variety page, archived. editorial policy.