Sree Sahya
A 1977 CTCRI hybrid with high starch (29-31%), low cyanogen (75-85 ppm), good cooking quality and drought tolerance. A semi-branching plant with long-necked tubers, 10-11 months, 35-40 t/ha, listed for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and the north-east.
Quick facts
- Type
- Stem cutting (clonal planting material)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 10-11 months (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025)
- Expected yield
- 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 1977 · ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram, a hybrid (CTCRI bulletin, Table 3)
About this variety
Sree Sahya is a hybrid cassava variety released in 1977 by ICAR-CTCRI, described on the older web page as a multiple-cross hybrid. CTCRI's bulletin describes a semi-branching plant with long-necked (4.5-6.5 cm), medium-long cylindrical tubers with occasional beading. It takes 10-11 months, gives 35-40 t/ha with 29-31% starch, and is recommended for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and the north-eastern region. Indian Horticulture (2025) lists it as drought tolerant with low cyanogen (75-85 ppm), good cooking quality and moderate resistance to Cercospora leaf spot. The older web page calls it hardy and highly resistant to drought.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Sahya if you want high starch with drought tolerance and low cyanogen from an old, proven CTCRI variety, in any of the many states it is listed for. CTCRI gives 29-31% starch, 35-40 t/ha, 10-11 months, and Indian Horticulture adds drought tolerance, low cyanogen (75-85 ppm), good cooking quality and moderate resistance to Cercospora leaf spot. It is semi-branching, with long-necked (4.5-6.5 cm), medium-long cylindrical tubers that sometimes show beading. The costs are the long season, 10-11 months, and no mosaic resistance. In a mosaic area choose Sree Sakthi or Sree Reksha.
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).
- SpacingNon-branching types: 75 x 75 cm in every state (CTCRI Table 7). About 3,600 stems a hectare.
- 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, 10-11 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
10-11 months (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025)
Expected yield
35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin, web page and Indian Horticulture 2025)
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
- High starch, 29-31%, with 35-40 t/ha.
- Drought tolerant, with a low cyanogen figure (75-85 ppm).
- The widest state list, with Sree Visakham.
Things to consider
- The longest season of the CTCRI list, 10-11 months.
- Not listed as resistant to cassava mosaic disease.
- The cyanogen figure (75-85 ppm) is higher than Sree Reksha's or Sree Harsha's.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Assam
- Andhra Pradesh
Long-necked tubers and the widest state list
CTCRI gives Sree Sahya tubers a neck of 4.5 to 6.5 cm between the stem and the swollen part, and says they can show beading, a string-of-beads look. A long neck is a plant trait. For you it means the tuber sits a little lower and away from the stem, so dig around the stem rather than straight beside it to avoid cutting the neck. Beaded tubers peel less cleanly, so a buyer who peels by hand may mark them down; ask before you commit.
Sahya also shares the widest state list in the CTCRI table with Sree Visakham: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and the north-east. That reflects decades of use rather than a new trial. A 1977 release is old enough to have local selections and mixed stock under the same name, so buy stakes from a source that can name the mother field, and compare your lot with the CTCRI description: semi-branching, long-necked, medium-long cylindrical tubers.
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 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 Sahyathis page | 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 Sahya?
A hybrid cassava variety released in 1977 by ICAR-CTCRI. It takes 10-11 months, gives 35-40 t/ha with 29-31% starch, is drought tolerant and is recommended for many states.
How much cyanogen does Sree Sahya have?
Indian Horticulture (2025) gives 75-85 ppm, lower than H-97 (180-200 ppm) but higher than Sree Harsha (40-55) or Sree Reksha (35.01). Cook it well, as for any cassava.
Is Sree Sahya a good rainfed variety?
It is listed as drought tolerant by Indian Horticulture, and the older CTCRI web page calls it hardy and highly resistant to drought. Neither gives a rainfed yield figure, so plan on the lower end of 35-40 t/ha without water.
Which spacing should I use for Sree Sahya?
CTCRI calls it semi-branching, and its Table 7 gives the same 75 x 75 cm for semi-branching and non-branching types in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and 90 x 75 cm only for branching ones. Use 75 x 75 cm.
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, Climate-resilient and biofortified tuber crop varieties — Chandra and others, Indian Horticulture, November-December 2025. editorial policy.