Sree Swarna
A 2015 CTCRI cassava with yellow flesh, good cooking quality and early bulking at 7-8 months. 35-40 t/ha, 25.20% starch, for Kerala. The yellow flesh is described, but no carotene figure is given.
Quick facts
- Type
- Stem cutting (clonal planting material)
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 7-8 months (CTCRI bulletin); early bulking at 7 months (CTCRI web page)
- Expected yield
- 35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 40 t/ha (CTCRI web page)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 2015 · ICAR-CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram (CTCRI bulletin, Table 3)
About this variety
Sree Swarna is a cassava variety released in 2015 by ICAR-CTCRI. CTCRI's bulletin describes a tall, top-branching plant with an orange stem that turns brownish red on maturity, a light purple emerging leaf and a red petiole. The tubers are cylindrical with reddish brown skin, pink rind and light-yellow flesh. It takes 7-8 months, gives 35-40 t/ha with 25.20% starch, has good cooking quality and yellow flesh, and is recommended for Kerala. CTCRI's older web page gives 40 t/ha, early bulking at 7 months and tolerance to cassava mosaic disease. The bulletin table does not list a disease tolerance.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Sree Swarna if you grow cassava to eat in Kerala and want a yellow-fleshed variety that bulks early. CTCRI released it in 2015, 7-8 months, 35-40 t/ha, 25.20% starch, good cooking quality and light-yellow flesh. It is tall and top-branching with an orange stem that turns brownish red, so it plants at the branching spacing. It is recommended for Kerala only. Two cautions. CTCRI's web page says it tolerates cassava mosaic disease, but the bulletin table does not, so do not rely on mosaic tolerance. And yellow flesh is described but no carotene figure is given, so do not sell it as carotene-rich.
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, 7-8 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
7-8 months (CTCRI bulletin); early bulking at 7 months (CTCRI web page)
Expected yield
35-40 t/ha (CTCRI bulletin); 40 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
- Early bulking in 7-8 months with 35-40 t/ha.
- Good cooking quality and light-yellow flesh.
- Listed for Kerala, where it was bred.
Things to consider
- Starch is lower, 25.20%, so it is a table type, not a factory one.
- No carotene figure is given for the yellow flesh.
- The two CTCRI sources differ on mosaic tolerance and yield (35-40 or 40 t/ha).
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
Yellow flesh: what the sheet says and what it does not
Sree Swarna is described as having light-yellow flesh and good cooking quality. In sweet potato, yellow or orange flesh usually signals carotene, and CTCRI publishes carotene numbers for its sweet potatoes (for example Sree Vardhini at 1,200 IU per 100 g). For cassava, the older CTCRI page gives a carotene number for Sree Visakham, 466 IU per 100 g, and none for Sree Swarna. So the yellow colour of Swarna is a fact, but its carotene is unmeasured in the sources we read.
That should shape how you sell it. Market it as a yellow-fleshed, quick-cooking cassava, not as a nutrition product, unless you have a lab test. And check the claims against each other: the bulletin says 35-40 t/ha with no disease tolerance, the web page says 40 t/ha with mosaic tolerance. Take the bulletin as the cautious one.
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 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 Swarnathis page | 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 Swarna?
A cassava variety released in 2015 by ICAR-CTCRI for Kerala. It takes 7-8 months, gives 35-40 t/ha with 25.20% starch, has good cooking quality and light-yellow flesh.
Is Sree Swarna resistant to cassava mosaic disease?
CTCRI's older web page says it is tolerant to the disease, but the bulletin table lists no resistance for it, unlike Sree Reksha, Sree Suvarna and Sree Sakthi. Use clean stakes and rogue any mosaic plant.
Which spacing should I use for Sree Swarna?
It is tall and top-branching, so use the branching spacing, 90 x 90 cm in Kerala (CTCRI Table 7), about 2,500 stems a hectare.
Can I grow Sree Swarna outside Kerala?
CTCRI recommends it for Kerala only. We found no trial in other states. Try a small plot and ask your KVK, or choose a variety CTCRI lists for your state.
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.