IISR Prabha
A 1996 IISR open-pollinated progeny selection with reddish-yellow rhizomes, high curcumin (6.52%), 15% oleoresin and 37 t/ha fresh in 205 days. IISR notes it was free from disease in farmers' fields.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Turmeric
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 205 days (IISR)
- Seed rate
- TNAU gives 2,000 kg of finger rhizome a hectare, in pieces of 25 to 30 g dibbled 4 cm deep. IISR gives no separate seed rate for this variety.
- Expected yield
- 37 t/ha fresh rhizome (IISR variety page); 37.5 in the 2025 Indian Horticulture appraisal
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Released 1996 · ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode, Kerala
About this variety
IISR Prabha is a turmeric variety released in 1996 by ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode, as an open-pollinated progeny selection. IISR's variety page calls it high yielding and good quality, with reddish-yellow rhizomes and reddish-brown scales, and says it is a value-added variety that was free from disease incidence in farmers' fields. The crop takes 205 days and gives 37 tonnes of fresh rhizome a hectare. Curcumin is 6.52%, oleoresin 15.0% and dry recovery 19.5%. The plant is 44.14 cm tall with 2.07 tillers a clump. IISR's table adds essential oil of 6.5%, and the 2025 Indian Horticulture appraisal gives 37.5 t/ha and 6.5% curcumin.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose IISR Prabha if you sell turmeric on curcumin and want a high yield in about 205 days. IISR gives it 6.52% curcumin on the variety page, 6.5% in its table, 15.0% oleoresin and 37 t/ha fresh, against 39.12 t/ha and 225 days for Prathibha. IISR also notes that Prabha was free from disease incidence in farmers' fields, though it gives no named rot rating. The catch is that IISR's table shows 28.8 t/ha for Prabha, which matches the row above it for Sudharsana and does not match its other pages. If you want the highest fresh yield, Prathibha is a little ahead. If you want a shorter crop, Suguna or Pragati finish sooner.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeMay to June (TNAU)
- Seed rateTNAU gives 2,000 kg of finger rhizome a hectare, in pieces of 25 to 30 g dibbled 4 cm deep. IISR gives no separate seed rate for this variety.
- SpacingTNAU: 45 x 15 cm, on ridges 45 cm apart or on raised beds 120 cm wide.
- FertilizerTNAU basal dose: 25 t farmyard manure and 200 kg neem or groundnut cake a hectare, with 25 kg N, 60 kg P and 108 kg K, plus 30 kg ferrous sulphate and 15 kg zinc sulphate. Top dress 25 kg N and 108 kg K at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days after planting. IISR gives no separate dose for this variety.
- HarvestingTNAU: the plants lodge, yellow and dry when the crop is mature. Dig the rhizomes with a spade or fork. TNAU gives 25 to 30 t/ha fresh and 5 to 6 t/ha cured as the general yield.
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Friable, well-drained red loam in wet or garden land under tropical conditions (TNAU)
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
205 days (IISR)
Expected yield
37 t/ha fresh rhizome (IISR variety page); 37.5 in the 2025 Indian Horticulture appraisal
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- No named disease rating from IISR; its variety page says free from disease incidence in farmers' fields
- Rhizome rot (Pythium): use clean seed from a healthy plot, plant on well-drained ground, and treat seed rhizomes as TNAU says, with phosalone 2 ml a litre and 0.3% copper oxychloride for 30 minutes, or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g and Trichoderma viride 4 g a kg.
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- High curcumin: 6.52% on IISR's variety page and 6.5% in its table, with 15.0% oleoresin.
- 37 t/ha fresh in 205 days, about 20 days shorter than Prathibha.
- IISR notes it was free from disease incidence in farmers' fields.
Things to consider
- IISR's table shows 28.8 t/ha for Prabha, against 37 on its variety page and 37.5 in the 2025 appraisal.
- No named rhizome rot or leaf blotch rating, only the farm-field note.
- A little below Prathibha on fresh yield (39.12 t/ha).
Suitable regions
IISR's variety page says all over India, and its table recommends Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
Prabha and Prathibha: two 1996 releases, one choice
IISR released Prabha and Prathibha in the same year, 1996, and both are open-pollinated progeny selections. On IISR's figures they differ in small ways. Prathibha gives 39.12 t/ha in 225 days, with 6.52% curcumin on the landmark page, 16.2% oleoresin and 18.5% dry recovery. Prabha gives 37 t/ha in 205 days, with 6.52% curcumin on its variety page, 15.0% oleoresin and 19.5% dry recovery.
So Prathibha gives about 2 tonnes more fresh rhizome, and Prabha finishes about 20 days sooner and dries down to a little more cured turmeric for each tonne dug. By our arithmetic from IISR's figures, 37 t at 19.5% is about 7.2 t of dry rhizome, and 39.12 t at 18.5% is also about 7.2 t. On dry weight they come out level.
That is the useful point. If you sell cured turmeric, the two give much the same dry crop, and Prabha gets you there sooner. If you sell fresh rhizome by weight, Prathibha pays slightly more.
Can you save seed from this crop?
Turmeric is grown from rhizomes, not seed. Keep seed rhizomes from a clean plot, store them in sand under partial shade as TNAU advises, and do not use rhizomes from plants that showed rot.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Turmeric variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IISR Alleppey Supreme | Deep colour and high curcumin (5.5%) for buyers who pay for colour, rainfed in Kerala or irrigated elsewhere | About 210 days | About 200 q/ha (fresh, IISR) | Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal |
| IISR Kedaram | Steady curcumin and leaf-blotch cover, rain-fed Kerala or irrigated Maharashtra | 180 days (IISR variety page); 210 days (IISR table) | 29 t/ha fresh on average (IISR variety page) or 34.5 (IISR table); 5.28 t/ha dry | Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal |
| IISR Prabhathis page | Curcumin-led sales; a 205-day high yielder | 205 days (IISR) | 37 t/ha fresh rhizome (IISR variety page); 37.5 in the 2025 Indian Horticulture appraisal | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| IISR Pragati | A short 180-day crop with a high fresh yield; nematode soils | 180 days (IISR) | 38 t/ha fresh rhizome (IISR variety page and Indian Horticulture 2025); 52 t/ha potential | Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana |
| IISR Prathibha | The highest fresh yield of IISR's turmeric releases, with high curcumin and nematode resistance | 225 days (IISR); 210 to 240 days in the Indian Horticulture 2025 appraisal | 39.12 t/ha fresh rhizome on average (IISR), about 391 q/ha | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| IISR Surya | The powdering industry; light-coloured, aromatic turmeric | 220 to 240 days (IISR) | 29 t/ha fresh rhizome on average; 41 t/ha potential; 5.8 t/ha dry (IISR variety page) | Kerala, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh |
| Rajapuri | Thick, fleshy rhizomes sold through the Sangli market, for Maharashtra farmers who sell by size | 240–270 days | 200–250 q/ha (fresh rhizome) | Maharashtra |
| Roma | Odisha turmeric with 5.0% curcumin and good tolerance to leaf and rhizome disease, selected at a high-altitude station | 200–255 days | 200–250 q/ha (fresh) | Odisha |
| Salem (Tamil Nadu local) | A big-rhizome Tamil Nadu farmer type with 4.75% curcumin and about 300–320 q/ha fresh | 250–270 days | 250–300 q/ha (fresh) | Tamil Nadu |
| Sudharsana | A short 190-day crop with plump orange rhizomes | 190 days (IISR) | 28.8 t/ha fresh rhizome on average; 54.9 t/ha potential (IISR) | Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh |
| Suguna | Highest curcumin of the IISR releases here (4.9%) in a short 190-day crop, for Kerala and Andhra Pradesh | 190 days | 280–320 q/ha (fresh rhizome) | Kerala, Andhra Pradesh |
| Suroma | The same Odisha line as Roma with slightly higher curcumin (5.1%) and oleoresin (14.7%) | 200–255 days | 200–250 q/ha (fresh) | Odisha |
| Suvarna | Deep orange rhizomes and the widest field-tolerance list (rhizome rot, leaf blotch, leaf spot, scale, shoot borer), in about 200 days | About 200 days | 250–300 q/ha (fresh rhizome) | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
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 Turmeric is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Turmeric plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Turmeric variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Turmeric 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 Turmeric rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Turmeric seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Which yield is right for Prabha, 37 or 28.8 t/ha?
IISR's Prabha variety page gives 37 t/ha and the 2025 Indian Horticulture appraisal gives 37.5. IISR's variety table gives 28.8, which is the figure of the row above it, Sudharsana, so we think it is a slip. We show 37.
Is Prabha better than Prathibha?
Not clearly. Prathibha gives a little more fresh rhizome, 39.12 against 37 t/ha, and Prabha finishes about 20 days sooner. On dry weight, by our arithmetic from IISR's dry recovery figures, both are about 7.2 t/ha. Choose Prabha if time matters and Prathibha if you sell fresh by weight.
Does Prabha resist rhizome rot?
IISR gives no named rhizome rot rating. Its variety page says only that Prabha was free from disease incidence in farmers' fields, which is an observation and not a test. Keep to clean seed, drainage and seed treatment as TNAU advises.
Which states is Prabha for?
IISR's variety page says all over India, and its table recommends Kerala and Tamil Nadu. TNAU's turmeric page also lists IISR Prabha among its varieties. IISR gives no state-wise yield.
Sourced from: Prabha (Turmeric) — ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Landmark Technologies — ICAR-IISR, Spice varieties: significant characteristics of turmeric varieties — ICAR-IISR (ITM-ABI), An appraisal of ICAR-IISR released varieties in spices — Indian Horticulture, July-August 2025 (Shivakumar and others), Turmeric — TNAU Agritech Portal (season, seed rate, spacing, manuring, seed treatment, yield). editorial policy.