Record Harvest: Punjab farmers reap highest potato yield this year amid favourable prices
This boost is credited to the availability of good-quality, high-yield seed varieties.
This year, potato cultivation covered 1.17 lakh hectares, compared to 1.14 lakh hectares last year, marking a slight increase of 3,000 hectares. (Photo: pixabay) Potato farmers, who have often been dissatisfied due to the poor and highly fluctuating rates of their crop, are now not only receiving good prices for their produce but are also witnessing Punjab’s highest yield till date this year. Despite marginal changes in cultivated area, the state has seen a significant increase in potato production.
The harvesting season for potatoes has concluded in the state, and data collected by the Horticulture Department from across Punjab reveals a production of 32.50 lakh tonne (LT) of potatoes this year, marking an increase of approximately 94,000 tonne compared to last year’s total production. This boost is credited to the availability of good-quality, high-yield seed varieties.
Last year, in 2022-23, the state recorded a production of 31.56 LT, which was about 1.05 LT more than the previous year. This year, potato cultivation covered 1.17 lakh hectares, compared to 1.14 lakh hectares last year, marking a slight increase of 3,000 hectares. Experts attribute the rise in productivity per hectare to the availability of better-quality seeds provided to farmers.
The potato productivity per hectare stands at 27.77 tonne, a slight increase from 27.67 tonne last year. Around 60% of Punjab’s total potato production, approximately 20 lakh tonne, is allocated for seed purposes. Punjab’s seed is highly regarded nationwide. Out of the remaining produce, nearly 7 lakh tonne are consumed as table potato within Punjab, while approximately 5 lakh tonne table potato are sold to other states by Punjab’s farmers.
Around 630 cold stores in Punjab have a capacity to store approximately 23.50 lakh tonne of potatoes.
Popular potato varieties in Punjab include Kufri Jyoti, Pukhraj, Chipsona, Badshah, Diamond, LR variety, Chandramukhi, and Sultana and sugar-free varieties.
Punjab’s Bumper Potato Production
The state supplies seed potatoes to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and others.
“Cultivation of seed potatoes is labour-intensive, with tuber size meticulously maintained at 30-55 mm, unlike table potatoes, which range from 70-90 mm. In December, the above-ground plant leaves are pruned to prevent overgrowth or virus infestation. Harvested tubers are stored under paddy or wheat crop stubbles for 2-3 weeks until their skins harden, after which they are transferred to cold stores for year-round sale,” said a potato grower Gurmail Singh Dhadda of Malsian area in Jalandhar, adding that farmers fetched good price this year.
Potato sowing in Punjab begins in October and harvesting occurs in February-March. Additionally, farmers in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district engage in ‘kutchi Putai’ of 60-day-old potato crops by late November, primarily for sale in Delhi markets where demand for small-sized potatoes fetches higher prices. Subsequently, wheat is sown in these fields, covering an area of 12,000 to 13,000 hectares. Punjab’s Doaba region, comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, and Nawanshahr districts, is renowned for producing high-quality potato seeds distributed across the nation. Ludhiana, Moga, and Amritsar districts have also seen significant increases in potato cultivation.
According to the Punjab Horticulture Department, potato production in 2021-22 was 30.50 LT, and in 2020-21, it stood at 29.49 LT, covering an area of 1.07 lakh hectares. In 2019-2020, potato production reached 28.70 LT, covering 1.06 lakh hectares. Since 2022, potato production has consistently exceeded 30 lakh tonne. Production figures for 2018-19, 2017-18, and 2016-17 were 27.24 LT, 25.71 LT, and 25.24 LT, respectively, with a corresponding increase in cultivated area.
From 2004-05 to 2015-16, Punjab’s potato production ranged between 14.70 LT to 23.85 LT, while the cultivated area increased from 72,000 hectares to 92,000 hectares. During this period, the area under potato cultivation in the state increased by 62.5%, while production witnessed a 121% increase. Furthermore, the per-hectare potato productivity in Punjab has increased from 20 tonne per hectare in 2004-05 to 27.77 tonne per hectare this season, marking a 38.85% increase in productivity per hectare.
Farmers are selling table potatoes at Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kg, considered a good price, while seed prices range from Rs 12 to Rs 40 per kg, depending on the variety. In Punjab around 4-lakh tonne seed and 7-lakh tonne table potato is consumed and remaining around 21 LT including 16 LT seed potato is supplied to the other states.
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