Sree Padmanabha
The first cassava mosaic-resistant variety from ICAR-CTCRI, released in 2006. A tall, late-branching plant, 9-10 months, for rainfed Kerala and irrigated Tamil Nadu. The bulletin gives only 29-30 t/ha and the web page 38 t/ha.
Quick facts
- Type
- Stem cutting (clonal planting material)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin); 270-300 days (CTCRI web page)
- Expected yield
- 29-30 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 38 t/ha (CTCRI web page)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 2006 · ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram (CTCRI bulletin, Table 3)
About this variety
Sree Padmanabha is a cassava variety released in 2006 by ICAR-CTCRI. CTCRI's bulletin describes a tall, late-branching plant with a greyish green stem and light green emerging leaves that shows cupping of leaves under drought. It takes 9-10 months, gives 29-30 t/ha with 25-26% starch and is resistant to cassava mosaic disease. It is recommended for rainfed areas of Kerala and irrigated plains of Tamil Nadu. CTCRI's older web page calls it the first cassava mosaic-resistant variety of tapioca, with 270-300 days and an average yield of 38 t/ha.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Padmanabha if mosaic disease is your problem and you want the older CTCRI resistant variety that farmers have grown since 2006, for rainfed Kerala or irrigated Tamil Nadu. CTCRI's web page calls it the first mosaic-resistant variety of tapioca. It is tall and late-branching, and shows cupping of leaves under drought. Yield is where the sources part: the bulletin says 29-30 t/ha and the web page 38 t/ha, and starch is 25-26% at 9-10 months (the web page says 270-300 days). Against that, the newer Sree Sakthi, Sree Suvarna and Sree Reksha are listed as completely resistant at 35-45 t/ha. Padmanabha is a fallback where its planting material is easy to find.
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, 9-10 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
9-10 months (CTCRI bulletin); 270-300 days (CTCRI web page)
Expected yield
29-30 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 38 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
- Resistant to cassava mosaic disease, the first CTCRI variety so described.
- Suited to both rainfed Kerala and irrigated Tamil Nadu.
- Several years of use in farmers' fields since 2006.
Things to consider
- The bulletin yield is 29-30 t/ha, among the lowest of the 20 CTCRI varieties, against 38 t/ha on the web page.
- Starch is 25-26%, low for a factory buyer.
- Leaves cup in drought.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
The first mosaic-resistant variety, read beside the newer ones
Sree Padmanabha (2006) opened the line of CTCRI mosaic-resistant cassavas. Sree Sakthi (2018), Sree Suvarna (2018) and Sree Reksha (2017) are listed as completely resistant, and Sree Kaveri (2023) as resistant. Padmanabha is listed only as resistant. CTCRI's newer table gives yield ranges of 40-45 t/ha for Sakthi and Reksha, 35-40 for Suvarna and 40-50 for Kaveri, while Padmanabha is 29-30 on the same table.
So on paper the newer varieties give 10 or more tonnes extra and adds a stronger resistance claim. The web page's 38 t/ha for Padmanabha would close most of that gap, and the two CTCRI sources do not agree. If your area already grows Padmanabha, and clean stakes are cheap, a side-by-side strip with Sree Reksha or Sree Sakthi for one season will tell you more than either table.
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 Apoorva | 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 Padmanabhathis page | 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 Padmanabha?
A cassava variety released in 2006 by ICAR-CTCRI and described on CTCRI's web page as the first mosaic-resistant variety of tapioca. It is tall and late-branching and takes 9-10 months.
Why do CTCRI sources give 29-30 and 38 t/ha?
We could not tell. The bulletin table gives 29-30 t/ha and 9-10 months; the older web page gives an average of 38 t/ha and 270-300 days. Different trials or years may explain it. Plan on the lower figure.
Where does Sree Padmanabha grow?
CTCRI recommends it for the rainfed areas of Kerala and the irrigated plains of Tamil Nadu. It shows leaf cupping under drought, so keep it irrigated where rain is short.
Which spacing should I use for Sree Padmanabha?
It is late-branching, so use the branching spacing: 90 x 90 cm in Kerala and 90 x 75 cm in Tamil Nadu (CTCRI Table 7).
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.