Sree Pavithra
A clonal selection from the Aniyoor local, released by ICAR-CTCRI in 2014 or 2015 (sources differ). The first potassium-efficient cassava, with excellent cooking quality, 25-26% starch and 35-40 t/ha in 9-10 months.
Quick facts
- Type
- Stem cutting (clonal selection)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 9-10 months
- Expected yield
- 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI); 35-45 t/ha in a review table
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No mosaic resistance is claimed; low in cyanogen compounds (review table)
- Release
- Released 2014 or 2015 · ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram (clonal selection from the Aniyoor local)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Sree Pavithra is a tall, top-branching cassava from ICAR-CTCRI, a clonal selection from the Aniyoor local, released in 2014 or 2015 (CTCRI's listings differ). It has cylindrical tubers with brown skin, pink rind and white flesh, excellent cooking quality and 25-26% starch. CTCRI gives 9-10 months and 35-40 t/ha; a review table says 35-45 t/ha. Its main trait is potassium efficiency: it yields 243.65 kg of tubers for every kg of potassium it absorbs, and CTCRI calls it the first K-efficient variety, suited to soils low or marginal in exchangeable potassium. CTCRI recommends it for Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Pavithra if your soil is low in potassium, you want to spend less on fertiliser, or table quality matters. CTCRI says it needs only 25:12.5:25 kg NPK a hectare for up to five years, and its cooking quality is excellent. Starch is 25-26%, so it is not for a mill. Choose Sree Rekha for more starch (28-30%) on mixed upland and lowland, and Sree Vijaya if you want to be out of the field in 6-7 months.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeMay-June with the south-west monsoon, or September-October with the north-east monsoon; December-January if irrigated (CTCRI)
- Spacing90 x 90 cm for branching types such as Sree Pavithra, on mounds in a coconut garden (CTCRI)
- Sowing methodCut setts of 15-20 cm with 10-12 buds from mature, healthy stems 2-3 cm thick, discard the woody base and soft tip, and plant them vertically 5 cm deep, one sett to a mound or ridge (CTCRI).
- FertilizerCTCRI: the general dose is 12.5 t/ha FYM and 100:50:100 kg N:P2O5:K2O. For Sree Pavithra, CTCRI says only 25% of that is needed, 25:12.5:25 kg NPK a hectare, for up to five years.
- Harvesting9-10 months after planting (CTCRI).
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)
- pH
- 5-7 (CTCRI)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Needs far less fertiliser: CTCRI says growing Sree Pavithra saves 75% of NPK, at 25:12.5:25 kg/ha for up to five years.
- Excellent cooking quality and low cyanogen compounds.
Things to consider
- Takes 9-10 months, longer than the 6-7 month table types, and starch (25-26%) is low for a mill.
- No mosaic resistance is claimed, and CTCRI's year and yield figures differ between its listings.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
The potassium-efficient cassava, and what it saves
Fertiliser is a large cost for a crop that stays in the field for most of a year, and in CTCRI's general dose the potash (100 kg K2O) is as big as the nitrogen. CTCRI's answer in Sree Pavithra is a variety that makes 243.65 kg of tubers for each kg of potassium it absorbs. CTCRI calls it the first K-efficient cassava, suited to soils that are inherently low or marginal in exchangeable potassium.
The saving is large on paper. The general dose is 12.5 t/ha FYM with 100:50:100 kg N:P2O5:K2O. For Sree Pavithra, CTCRI says only 25% is needed, 25:12.5:25 kg NPK, for up to five years. In that dose the potash falls from 100 to 25 kg a hectare. CTCRI's fertiliser table uses 85 kg of muriate of potash at planting and 85 kg later for the general dose, 170 kg in all, so a quarter of that is about 42 kg, which is our arithmetic, not CTCRI's. Check the price you pay for it.
There are limits. This is CTCRI's own package, with no independent trial that we found, and the 'up to five years' means you should watch the soil test after that. The variety is a table type with 25-26% starch and 9-10 months to harvest, so the saving comes with a lower starch than H-226 or Sree Rekha. For a farmer on low-potash laterite who sells the tubers for cooking, it is a good fit.
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 Tapioca (Cassava) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | 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 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 Pavithrathis page | 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 does potassium-efficient mean?
CTCRI says Sree Pavithra makes 243.65 kg of tubers for every kg of potassium it absorbs, so it does well on soils that are naturally low or marginal in exchangeable potassium. CTCRI calls it the first K-efficient cassava variety, and says it also proved efficient in nitrogen and phosphorus.
How little fertiliser can I use on Sree Pavithra?
CTCRI says that by growing Sree Pavithra you can save 75% of NPK, applying only 25% of the present recommendation, 25:12.5:25 kg NPK a hectare, for up to five years. The general recommendation is 12.5 t/ha FYM and 100:50:100 kg NPK. This is CTCRI's own package, so keep an eye on the crop and your soil test.
Is Sree Pavithra good for eating?
CTCRI lists excellent cooking quality, and a review table adds low cyanogenic compounds. The tubers are cylindrical with brown skin, pink rind and white flesh. Starch is 25-26%, which is moderate, so it is a table variety rather than an industrial one.
Why do the year and yield for Sree Pavithra differ between sources?
A review table, citing CTCRI 2017, gives release in 2014 and 35-45 t/ha over 270-300 days. CTCRI's cassava volume gives 2015, 35-40 t/ha and 9-10 months. Both agree on the Aniyoor local as the source, a 25-26% starch and good cooking quality. Plan on the lower yield of 35 t/ha.
Where was Sree Pavithra tried by farmers?
CTCRI distributed Sree Pavithra with Sree Jaya, Sree Vijaya and two other lines to 150 farmers in Thrissur and Wayanad districts of Kerala in 2014-15 and 2015-16, to grow rainfed on 10 cents each. The paper does not give a clean yield for Sree Pavithra alone. The mixed average was 5.40 kg a plant at Mattathur and 3.70 kg at Vellamunda.
Sourced from: Cassava (variety descriptions, nutrient use efficient variety) — ICAR-CTCRI, Agrotechniques of Tropical Tuber Crops, Technical Bulletin No. 97 — ICAR-CTCRI, 2023, Cassava breeding and agronomy in Asia: 50 years of history and future directions (Table 5) — Malik and others, Breeding Science, 2020, Performance of improved varieties of cassava in two agroecological units of Kerala — Muthuraj and others, Journal of Root Crops 47(1&2), 2021, Cassava varieties developed by CTCRI — ICAR-CTCRI variety page, archived. editorial policy.