Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343

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Scientia Horticulturae
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti

Yield, quality and soil health under organic vs conventional farming in

taro
G. Suja ∗ , G. Byju, A.N. Jyothi, S.S. Veena, J. Sreekumar
ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram 695017, Kerala, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Growing concerns regarding food safety, environmental degradation and human health have generated
Received 15 May 2016 interest in alternative agricultural systems like organic farming. This study aimed to compare growth,
Received in revised form 31 January 2017 biomass, yield, proximate composition and mineral contents of tubers, physico-chemical properties and
Accepted 2 February 2017
microbial population of soil under organic vs conventional farming in taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.).
Field experiments were conducted in split plot design over five seasons at ICAR-Central Tuber Crops
Keywords:
Research Institute, India, with three varieties (Sree Kiran, Sree Rashmi and local) in main plots and three
Alternative farming
production systems in sub plots. Organic system (10.61 t ha−1 ) performed similar to that of conventional
Colocasia esculenta
Varieties
(11.12 t ha−1 ), with slight yield reduction (−5%). Both elite and local varieties responded equally well to
Productivity organic management, which lowered the bulk density slightly and improved the water holding capacity
Cormel proximate composition (+19%) and porosity (+3%) of soil. Cormel quality was better under organic management, with higher dry
Soil quality matter, starch, sugars, P, K, Ca and Mg contents. Organic plots showed significantly higher pH (+1.2 unit)
On-farm testing and available P and higher soil organic C (+39%), exchangeable Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu status. On-station
developed technology involving farmyard manure, green manure, neem cake, biofertilizers and ash were
on-farm validated at seven locations in southern India. The yield under organic management at farm
level was higher by 29 per cent. Organic farming proved to be an eco-friendly alternative to conventional
farming in taro for stable yield and quality cormels as well as for maintaining soil health.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The food production in industrialized countries has been evolv-
ing since the 1950s towards a mass production system. This practice
is based on the intensive use of not only land and water, but also
external inputs such as seeds, breeds, machinery, fuel, chemical
fertilizers as well as a large variety of agro-chemicals like pesti-
cides, fungicides, herbicides, antibiotics, regulators and hormones
(De Schutter, 2010). Such an intensive production system, leads
to deterioration of soil health, contamination of the food chain
and water by persistent pesticide residues or nitrates, or reduced
nutrient content and flavour in addition to potential health hazards
(Lairon, 2010). Nevertheless, over the years worldwide awareness
has led to the search for safe and sustainable food production and
consumption systems (El-Hage Scialabba, 2007; Niggli et al., 2007;
Gomiero et al., 2011).
The combined awareness of environmental protection and bio-
diversity, food safety and security as well as human well-being in
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sujagin@yahoo.com (G. Suja).
recent times has considerably raised institutional and public con-
cern, favouring ecologically-grown animal and human foods (FAO,
2010; De Schutter, 2011; SCAR, 2011). Since the 1950s, alterna-
tive methods of ecological agriculture have been developed with
the aim of tackling those growing concerns, which are generally
referred to as ecological or organic methods of agriculture (EC,
2007, 2008). Organic agriculture is an alternative strategy that aims
at sustainable and safe food production, while at the same time
maintaining soil health and environmental protection by avoiding
the use of synthetic chemicals and with maximum use of on-farm
resources.
While organic production systems could slightly lower food
production (10–20%) in developed countries, they considerably
increase food yields (by about +80%) in poor and developing coun-
tries that are faced with the biggest food insecurity (El-Hage
Scialabba, 2007; De Schutter, 2010). In view of the threats of climate
change bringing in increased heat and drought and the expected
global population increase, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right
to Food called for a fundamental shift towards agro-ecological pro-
duction methods in 2011 since they are expected to outperform
conventional farming (De Schutter, 2011). However, the possible
risks or disadvantages related to organic systems include pests,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2017.02.006
0304-4238/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343
diseases and weed control, which can be overcome to a certain
extent by growing partially resistant varieties, cultural techniques
like intercropping, two-layer ploughing and exploitation of ecosys-
tem services (Hansen et al., 2008; Lazauskas and Pilipavicius, 2004;
Stavi et al., 2016).
Root and tuber crops (cassava, sweet potato, yams and aroids)
are the third most important group of food crops of mankind after
cereals and legumes. They contribute to food security, are produced
with low external inputs and mostly consumed by the poor peo-
ple of the developing countries, though some are used for animal
feed or as raw material for processing industries. Recently there has
been a great demand for organically produced tuberous vegetables
among affluent Asians and Africans living in Europe, USA and Mid-
dle East. Over the past decade there has been a greater focus on the
scope of research and development on organic farming of tropical
tuber crops (Suja et al., 2009, 2010, 2012a,b; Suja, 2013; Suja and
Sreekumar, 2014).
Taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott. var. antiquorum (Schott.)
Hubbard and Rehder (eddoe type), is an underexploited crop,
grown throughout the tropics especially in the warmer regions
for its edible cormels, leaves and petioles. It is a staple in many
countries in the Pacific, Caribbean and Asia and a supplement to
potatoes in the southern United States (Misra et al., 2005). Glob-
ally cocoyams (comprising taro and tannia) are cultivated in an
area of 1.30 m ha with a production of 9.98 m t and the average
productivity is 7.68 t ha−1 (www.faostat.fao.org).
In India, taro is mostly cultivated in northern and eastern states;
The area, production and productivity of taro in India is 51724 ha,
0.81 m t and 15.68 t ha−1 respectively (Srinivas et al., 2012). An
array of food products is prepared from tubers, leaves and petioles
of taro. Taro chips prepared from the tubers are used as snacks,
starch used in baby foods and there is considerable potential for
the use of taro silage as animal feed (Steinke et al., 1984).
This research could be an important contribution to current
knowledge that organic management was promising in elephant
foot yam and yams (Suja et al., 2010, 2012a,b, 2015, 2016; Suja,
2013; Suja and Sreekumar, 2014). but the performance of taro
under organic agriculture is presently unknown. There is little
understanding to date about the influence of organic cultivation
on the growth, yield, tuber composition and soil properties in taro.
The objectives of the present study were (1) to assess the impact
of organic vs conventional management on taro cultivation, (2) to
compare the growth, biomass, tuber yield, tuber quality of taro and
soil physico-chemical and biological properties under the two sys-
tems, (3) to develop organic production technologies in taro and to
validate the on-station developed organic production technologies
for adoption in the major taro growing environments of southern
India.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. On-station experiment
2.1.1. Study site
On-station experiments were conducted for five consecutive
seasons during 2009–2012 at the farm of ICAR-Central Tuber
Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CTCRI) (8◦ 29 N, 76◦ 57 E, 64 m alti-
tude), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, in an acid Ultisol. Green
manure cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was raised and incorporated
at 45–60 days after sowing (50% flowering stage) in the land one
year prior to taking up the present study. Chemical inputs were
not used in the experimental site for one year before starting this
research. Surface (0–15 cm) soil samples were collected before the
commencement of the experiment during 2009 for characterizing
the physico-chemical and biological properties of the soil of the
335
study site. The samples were air-dried and sieved to pass through
a 2-mm sieve. The pH, organic C, available N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn,
Zn and Cu status of the soil were estimated by standard analytical
methods (Page et al., 1982). Physical characters of the soil such as
bulk density, particle density, water holding capacity and poros-
ity were estimated by the methods of Gupta and Dakshinamoorthy
(1980). Another portion of the fresh soil samples were used for the
enumeration of microbial population of bacteria, fungi and actino-
mycetes by standard procedures as described by Nandini and Mary
Josephine (2013).
Prior to experimentation, the organic C status was ‘medium’
(0.51%), available N and P ‘low’ (64.60 kg ha−1 and 6.98 kg ha−1
respectively) and available K ‘high’ (330.00 kg ha−1 ) according
to Muhr et al. (1965). The exchangeable Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn
and Cu status were 1.49 cmol kg−1 , 0.64 cmol kg−1 , 83.95 mg kg−1 ,
10.35 mg kg−1 , 3.03 mg kg−1 and 2.33 mg kg−1 respectively. The
bulk density, particle density, water holding capacity and poros-
ity were 1.77 Mg m−3 , 2.63 Mg m−3 , 9.75% and 31.45% respectively.
The population of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were 72 × 103 ,
5 × 102 and 5 × 102 cfu g−1 respectively. The site experiences a
typical humid tropical climate, with mean annual rainfall of
1204.11 mm and the annual means of daily temperature maxima
and minima 31.65 ◦ C and 25.02 ◦ C respectively.
2.1.2. Experimental design, treatments and test variety
Field experiments were carried out in split plot design with
three varieties in main plots (Sree Kiran, Sree Rashmi and
local) and three production systems in sub plots (conventional,
(farmyard manure (FYM) @ 12 t ha−1 + NPK @ 80:25:100 kg ha−1 ),
traditional or farmers’ practice (FYM @ 15 t ha−1 and ash @
2.0 t ha−1 ) and organic (FYM @ 15 t ha−1 + green manuring to gen-
erate 15–20 t ha−1 of green matter in 45–60 days + neem cake @
1 t ha−1 + ash @ 2.0 t ha−1 + biofertilizers (Azospirillum @ 3 kg ha−1 ,
mycorrhiza @ 5 kg ha−1 and phosphobacteria @ 3 kg ha−1 )) (for
five consecutive seasons from 2009 (Crop 1: June 2009–January
2010; Crop 2: March 2010–October 2010; Crop 3: December
2010–June 2011; Crop 4: August 2011–March 2012; Crop 5: April
2012–November 2012). Three varieties, Sree Kiran, the first hybrid
taro variety, Sree Rashmi, a selection from indigenous germplasm
collection (CTCRI, 2006) and a local variety, procured from Farm-
ers’ Co-operative Society, Thrissur, Kerala, India and supplied by
Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council (VFPCK), Keralam were
compared. These varieties yield 16–18 t ha−1 , mature in seven
months and have good cooking quality. The treatment combina-
tions were replicated thrice. The gross plot size was 3.60 × 2.70 m
(36 plants) accommodating 16 inner plants and 20 border row
plants.
The N, P2 O5 and K2 O contents in farmyard manure were 0.45,
0.20 and 0.30%; green manure cowpea, 3.25, 0.47 and 2.10%; neem
cake, 1.60, 1.00 and 1.30% and ash, 0.45, 1.60 and 7.11% respec-
tively. Neem cake organic manure is the by-product obtained in
the process of cold pressing of neem tree fruits and kernels, the
solvent extraction process for neem oil cake. It is a potential source
of organic manure under the Bureau of Indian Standards, Specifi-
cation No. 8558. Cormels of 20–25 g were planted in pits of size
45 × 45 × 45 cm dug at 60 × 45 cm spacing. These pits were later
reformed into mounds. Field culture was done in accordance with
KAU (2002). The crop was planted in the first season during June
2009, mainly rainfed and harvested after seven months and the
remaining four seasons were continuously taken. In organic farm-
ing plots, green manure cowpea was sown @ 20–25 kg ha−1 in
between the pits immediately after planting taro The green mat-
ter was incorporated at 45–60 days after sowing (50% flowering
stage). The quantity of green matter obtained was 15.63, 13.60,
15.55, 16.25 and 14.00 t ha−1 during the five seasons respectively.
336 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343
2.1.3. Plant and soil measurements
2.1.3.1. Growth. Growth characters such as plant height and leaf
production were measured from three plants of each plot at 2, 4
and 6 months after planting during all the seasons, mean values
were computed and plant height was expressed in cm.
2.1.3.2. Biomass. The total biomass production and its partition-
ing to different plant parts were studied by conducting biomass
harvests of three plants at random from each plot at harvest. Plants
were separated into pseudostem, leaves, cormels and mother corm;
air dried and then oven dried at 70 ◦ C to constant weight. Dry weight
of these plant parts was recorded and the total plant dry weights
were computed. Harvest index was computed as the ratio of dry
weight of cormels to total plant dry weight (Hunt, 1982).
2.1.3.3. Yield attributes and yield. At harvest, number of cormels,
average weight of cormel, number of mother corms, weight of
cormel and mother corm were recorded from the inner plants. Fresh
weights of cormels and mother corms were expressed in t ha−1 .
2.1.3.4. Cormel quality. Proximate analyses of cormels for dry mat-
ter, starch, total sugars, reducing sugar, crude protein and total
phenols were done using standard procedures. Dry matter and
crude protein were determined by the method of AOAC (1980).
The starch content was determined by conversion to sugars by acid
hydrolysis and then by the method of Dubois et al. (1956). Total
sugars were also determined by the same method. Reducing sugar
was estimated by the method of Nelson (1944) and total phenols
by the method of Swain and Hillis (1955). Mineral composition of
cormels viz., P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu contents were also deter-
mined by standard methods (Piper, 1970). The P content of corms
was determined by the method of colorimetry, K and Ca by flame
photometry, Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
2.1.3.5. Soil properties. At the termination of the experiment in
each season, the pH, organic C, available N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn,
Zn and Cu status of the soil were estimated. Physical characters of
the soil such as bulk density, particle density, water holding capac-
ity and porosity and microbial plate count of bacteria, fungi and
actinomycetes were estimated after five seasons. The procedures
followed have been cited in earlier section.
2.2. On-farm validation
2.2.1. Study site
The on-station organic production technology was validated by
conducting on-farm experiments in seven locations in two major
growing districts of southern India, Thiruvananthapuram (8◦ 52 N
and 76◦ 93 E). and Kollam (8◦ 89 N and 76◦ 61 E). The climate of
Thiruvananthapuram is hot tropical with bimodal rainfall pattern
and without distinct seasons. The mean maximum temperature is
35 ◦ C, mean minimum temperature 20 ◦ C and the humidity is high
and increases to about 95% during the monsoon season. The average
annual rainfall is 1500 mm. The southwest monsoon, from June to
September is the principal rainy season. The district receives most
of its annual rainfall in this season. The second rainy season is the
northeast monsoon. It is from October to November. The climate of
Kollam is essentially tropical. It is characterized by hot and humid
summers and plenty of seasonal rainfall. The average rainfall of
Kollam varies between 1100 mm to 1500 mm per annum, maxi-
mum summer temperature is 34 ◦ C, minimum winter temperature
21 ◦ C and relative humidity 90%. The soil of the on-farm sites were
rated as low for organic C (0.46%), available N (72.68 kg ha−1 ) and
P (7.64 kg ha−1 ) and high for available K (333.88 kg ha−1 ).
2.2.2. Experimental design, treatments and variety
The on-farm experiment was conducted as a randomized block
design by considering the seven farmers’ locations as replications
and the three systems (conventional, traditional and organic) as
treatments. For the on-farm trials, taro var. Sree Kiran was planted
during June–December 2014.
2.2.3. Plant and soil measurements
Cormels were harvested, fresh weights were recorded and yields
were expressed in t ha−1 . At harvest, surface soils (0–15 cm) were
collected from each site and analysed for pH, organic C, available N,
P, K, and microbial plate count of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes
by standard methods already explained.
2.3. Statistical analysis
For the on-station experiment, analysis of variance (ANOVA) for
split plot design was used to compare treatment differences for the
different plant and soil parameters using SAS statistical software
(SAS, 2008). The least significant difference (LSD) test was used
at the 0.05 level of probability to test differences between treat-
ment means. Pooled analysis of yield data of five seasons was done.
Data on yield and soil properties of the on-farm experiment were
analyzed by applying ANOVA for randomized block design.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. On-station
3.1.1. Growth, biomass production and yield attributes
The growth attributes of taro viz., plant height and leaf pro-
duction were significantly affected by the varieties and production
systems (Table 1). The variety, Sree Rashmi was found to be sig-
nificantly taller than the others at all the three growth phases
studied. The high yielding varieties, Sree Kiran and Sree Rashmi
exhibited significantly better growth than the local variety. Con-
ventional management favoured plant height during the early
and mid-growth stages, whereas organic management significantly
enhanced the plant height at harvest stage. The comparatively
slower release and availability of nutrients from organic sources
in comparison to chemical fertilizers might have resulted in the
slower plant growth during the earlier stages and better plant
growth during later stages (Tisdale et al., 1993). However, varieties
x production systems interaction were not significant.
The total biomass production and its partitioning to leaf, pseu-
dostem, cormels and mother corm were neither influenced by
production systems nor varieties x production systems interaction.
The total biomass production and its partitioning to the vegetative
plant parts were higher under organic management. Whereas the
cormel biomass production was more under conventional prac-
tice, which resulted in higher harvest index (Fig. 1). The general
growth promoting effect of organic sources might have contributed
to greater total biomass production and its effective partitioning to
the vegetative and uneconomical storage structures. The conven-
tional system involving chemical fertilizers probably led to a rapid
and efficient partitioning to cormels, the economically important
part, which ultimately resulted in higher harvest index.
The yield attributes viz., number of cormels, cormel yield per
plant, mean weight of cormel and number of mother corms was
not significantly different among the three production systems
(Table 1). The number of cormels and cormel yield per plant were
slightly higher under conventional practice. The mother corm yield
under organic system was on par with conventional system. Sree
Rashmi had significantly greater average weight of cormel and the
 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343 337

Harvest index

0.355
0.446
0.472

0.441
0.423
0.408
0.080

NS
Mother corm
yield (g per

235.94
239.73
171.35
39.486

241.35
187.84
217.84
39.486
plant)
(No. per plant)
Mother corms

Fig. 1. Biomass production and partitioning as influenced by production systems.

NS

NS
2
2
2

2
2
2
cormel (g per
Weight of

cormel)

22.154

21.846
20.846

20.642

21.500
22.000
2.215

NS
Cormel yield (g
per plant)

271
288
289

264
284
301
NS

NS

Fig. 2. Yield trend over the seasons as affected by production systems.

Cormels (No.
per plant)

elite varieties produced appreciably higher mother corm yield over

the local variety.
NS

NS
13
13
14

14
12
13

3.1.2. Yield
6 MAP

0.325

0.325

The varietal effect was not significant during all the seasons. The
trend of yield of cormels over the seasons as affected by produc-
7
7
6

7
6
7

tion systems is given in Fig. 2. The effect of production systems also

was not significant, except during the first year. Organic farming of
4 MAP

0.364

taro proved to be significantly superior (10.43 t ha−1 ) to chemical

Leaf production

NS
Growth and yield attributes as influenced by varieties and production systems.

6
6
5

6
6
6

farming in the first season (8.88 t ha−1 ). In the subsequent seasons,

organic farming was equally productive as conventional practice,
2 MAP

but conventional practice showed a slight upper hand. This was

NSb

NS

mainly due to the occurrence of taro leaf blight caused by Phytoph-

4
5
4

4
4
4

thora colocasiae, which could not be controlled by organic measures.

Pooled analysis also indicated the similar yield performance of taro
6 MAP

under organic (10.61 t ha−1 ) and conventional (11.12 t ha−1 ) prac-

76.69
89.73
64.32
8.625

78.57

81.61
8.625
70.57

tices (Fig. 3), but with slight yield reduction (−5%) under organic
practice. Thus the productivity of organic taro in the present study
appeared to be 0.95 of that of chemically grown one.
4 MAP

82.56
93.37
64.93
8.597

85.79
79.65
75.41
8.597

The slight yield decrement (-5%) of taro observed under organic

Plant height (cm)

management in the present study based on five seasons’ experi-

mentation is negligible compared to the majority of reports that
2 MAPa

crop yields under organic management are 20–40% lower than

MAP: months after planting.
74.35
61.91
5.126

71.35

5.126
72.10

70.91

66.07

comparable conventional systems (Stockdale et al., 2001; Gopinath

et al., 2008; Ponti et al., 2012). It is reported that, in general, yields
NS: not significant.

were directly related to the intensity of farming in the prevailing

Varieties/Production

Production systems

conventional system (Ramesh et al., 2005, 2010), which means that

in areas of intensive farming system, shifting to organic agricul-
LSD (P ≤ 0.05)

LSD (P ≤ 0.05)
Conventional
Sree Rashmi

Traditional

ture decreases yield depending on the intensity of use of external

Sree Kiran
Varieties
systems

Organic

inputs, like fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides etc., before conversion

Table 1

Local

(Stanhill, 1990; Offermann and Nieberg, 1999). Since taro is tradi-

a

tionally grown in India with low external inputs, especially organic

338 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343
Fig. 3. Effect of production systems on cormel yield (average of five seasons).
wastes and manures available in the homesteads, the present study
has proved beyond doubt that organic management of taro in tra-
ditional Indian cultivation did not significantly compromise yield
compared to chemical intensive system.
Varieties x production systems interaction was not significant
throughout, except during the first crop season, when the vari-
ety, Sree Rashmi produced significantly higher yield under organic
practice compared to traditional practice, but similar to chemi-
cal farming. Both the elite varieties (Sree Kiran and Sree Rashmi)
responded equally well to organic farming during all the years,
except the second season, wherein conventional farming was bet-
ter. In the case of local variety, chemical farming produced better
yields than organic practice, except during two seasons (Fig. 4). The
average trend of varieties x production systems interaction over the
seasons showed that all the varieties responded similarly to both
the systems, but with slightly higher yield under chemical farming.
The state-of-the art of scientific data on productivity under
organic farming was examined in detail by Bellon and Penvern
(2014) and was found to be divergent and controversial. While
the crop productivity of organic farms appears to be 0.7–0.8 of
that of intensive farms in temperate zones, the yield ratio in
marginal regions of Africa, where subsistence farming is still widely
spread, has been found to be in favour of organic farms. Hence,
in resource and income-poor countries, organic farming seems to
offer an appropriate and low-cost way to increase productivity
and to improve farm livelihood (Bellon and Penvern, 2014). In the
present study, the yield reduction under organic farming was neg-
ligible and hence there is immense scope for organic production of
taro, especially since it is suitable for intercropping with plantation
crops, fruits and tree spices as well as sequential cropping with rice
or vegetables.
3.1.3. Tuber quality
Biochemical and mineral composition of taro cormels (except K)
were not significantly affected due to varieties, production systems
or varieties x production systems interaction. However, organic
cormels had higher dry matter (+7.29%), starch (+10.78%), total
sugars (+31.55%) and reducing sugars (+9.37%) and conventional
cormels had higher phenol, (+6.04%), fibre (+19.78%) and ash
(+20.07%) (Table 2). The K contents of organic and conventional
cormels were similar and significantly higher than traditionally
produced ones. However, organically produced cormels had higher
P (+3.22%), K (+1.77%), Ca (+5.52%) and Mg (+20.80%) contents
(Table 3).
Comparative data between organic and conventional food items
indicates that organic plant products had higher dry matter and
Mg contents in 310 and 162 studies conducted by AFSSA, France
(2003) and FSA, UK (2009) respectively (Lairon and Huber, 2014).
The data available generally refers to vegetables and fruits. It was
also confirmed by another evaluation based on numerous stud-
ies on plant products that reported higher levels of dry matter
and minerals, especially Fe, Mg and P by 21, 29 and 14% over
conventionally produced ones (Rembialkowska, 2007). Pieper and
Barrett (2008) also found higher levels of K in organic tomatoes.
The higher mineral content in organic crops may be due to the
higher abundance of micro-organisms in organically managed soils.
The micro-organisms produce many compounds that help plants to
combine with soil minerals and make them more available to plant
roots (Worthington, 2001).
Considering the tuber quality and yield performance of taro
under organic agriculture as reported above, it can be deduced that
(i) a slightly lower production of foods but with higher nutrient den-
sity would be more beneficial for people in industrialized countries,
and (ii) a considerable increase in available staple foods with higher
micronutrient content in developing countries would contribute to
a much better coverage of essential nutrient needs towards secur-
ing their food self sufficiency (Lairon and Huber, 2014).
3.1.4. Soil properties
3.1.4.1. Major chemical properties. The trend of major chemical
properties of the soil over five seasons as influenced by produc-
tion systems in taro is depicted in Fig. 5. The soil pH showed
a steep rise at the end of second season in all the treatments.
Thereafter it slightly declined in the conventional and traditional
practices. Under organic practice, the soil pH was substantially
higher compared to other treatments, which improved steadily
over the seasons reaching near neutrality by the fifth season (Fig. 5).
The organic C status was in the medium range in all plots dur-
ing the period of study. It peaked during the second season and
subsequently declined under all treatments, especially conven-
tional and traditional. There was a reversal in trend under organic
management with a rise after fourth season. Available N status
was deficient in all the treatments and it showed increment and
decrement in alternate seasons. Organic plots mostly had lowest
available N status, except in the last season. Available P content was
high, irrespective of management in all the production systems,
except a decline in the fourth season. The available K content was
in the medium-sufficient range (Muhr et al., 1965), which showed
a general decrease with a sharp increase only in the fourth sea-
son. Organic plots had higher available K content during the first
three seasons and the same declined thereafter, compared to the
other two practices, which is undesirable, particularly in high K
consuming tuber crops, like taro.
The production systems imparted significant effect on soil
chemical properties and the organic management exerted a pro-
found favourable influence. At the end of first season, the soil pH
was significantly higher and available N, P and K were improved
under organic management (Fig. 5). By the second season, organic
C status of the soil was significantly higher and available P and K
were favoured (Fig. 5). There was significant improvement in pH,
organic C, available P and K at the end of the third season (Fig. 5).
However by the fourth season, the major soil properties remained
unaffected. It is to be highlighted that after five continuous seasons
of organic farming in taro there was significant improvement in soil
pH and available P content (Fig. 5).
In short, the most significant aspect that emerged from the study
was that soil pH increased by 1.2 unit under organic management,
organic plots showed significantly higher available P (+59.44%) and
higher soil organic C (+39%) over conventional system. Available
N was also favoured slightly (+1.45%) under organic management.
Higher soil organic matter, soil pH, available P and K have been
documented by earlier workers in organic systems (Scow et al.,
1994; Clark et al., 1998). Similar results were reported for other
tropical tuber crops like elephant foot yam and yams (Dioscorea
 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343 339

Fig. 4. Effect of varieties x systems interaction on yield over seasons as well as average trend.

Table 2
Effect of production systems on biochemical constituents of cormels of taro.

Production systems Dry matter (%) Starch (%) FWa Total sugars (%) Reducing sugars Total phenol Fibre (%) DW Ash (%) DW
basis FW basis (%) FW basis (mg 100 g−1 ) basis basis
DWb basis

Conventional 15.36 8.81 1.42 0.49 612 3.65 6.53

Traditional 16.60 9.15 1.70 0.55 622 3.29 5.90
Organic 16.48 9.76 1.87 0.54 575 2.93 5.22
LSD (P ≤ 0.05) NSc NS NS NS NS 0.925 0.715
a
FW: fresh weight.
b
DW: dry weight.
c
NS: not significant.

Table 3
Effect of production systems on mineral composition of taro cormels (mg 100 g−1 DWa basis).

Production systems P K Ca Mg Cu Zn Mn

Conventional 393.92 2548.33 197.60 56.58 2.02 8.39 21.30

Traditional 410.06 2271.11 188.67 61.64 1.31 8.69 20.47
Organic 406.62 2593.33 208.51 68.35 1.07 8.48 20.15
LSD (P ≤ 0.05) NSb 204.60 NS NS NS NS NS
a
DW: dry weight.
b
NS: not significant.

rotundata, D. alata and D. esculenta), under organic management
(Suja et al., 2012b; Suja and Sreekumar, 2014).
Long-term changes in soil pH occur largely as a result of displac-
ing cations or adding sources of acidity such as H+ and Al3+ on the
exchange complex of soils (Tisdale et al., 1993). Significantly higher
pH nearing neutrality under organic management in the present
study is apparently due to the non use of NH4 fertilizers (Barak et al.,
1997) and addition of organic manures especially, green manure.
Adding green manure in the organic system may provide extra
cations possibly from lower soil depths, that are released at the
soil surface through leaching and decomposition of nutrients. The
observed increase in soil pH in organically managed soil might also
be attributed to decrease in the activity of exchangeable Al3+ ions
in soil solution due to chelation by organic molecules. Moreover,
the Ca content in farmyard manure (0.08%), green manure (0.41%),
neem cake (1.75%) and ash (15%) might have contributed to self-
liming effect of the soil under organic management (Clark et al.,
1998; Mei et al., 2002; Prabhakaran and Pitchai, 2002; Prakash et al.,
2002).
Higher organic C and available N status of organic plots are
expected to result from addition of organic manures, particularly
green manure cowpea. Solubilization of native P by organic acids
during decomposition of organic manures and increased mineral-
ization of P from the added organic manures might have led to a
higher available P in organic plots.
3.1.4.2. Secondary and micronutrient status. There was a steady
improvement in exchangeable Ca during the course of experimen-
tation, especially in traditional and organic systems (Fig. 6). In
conventional plots, there was a slight drop during the third sea-
son. However, exchangeable Ca was sufficient for crop growth
during almost all seasons, except the first season. Production sys-
tems imparted significant effect on Ca status from the third season
onwards, with organic system resulting in significantly higher Ca
340 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343

Fig. 5. Changes in major chemical properties of soil over season in the various systems.

Table 4
Soil properties under various production systems in taro under farm level.

Production systems pH Organic C (%) Available N Available P Available K Bacteria (*106 ) Fungi (*104 ) (cfu Actinomycetes
(kg ha−1 ) (kg ha−1 ) (kg ha−1 ) (cfua g−1 ) g−1 ) (*105 ) (cfu g−1 )

Conventional 5.52 0.593 86.4 96 192 2.59 3.90 1.66

Traditional 5.69 0.846 76.5 89 175 5.32 5.70 2.33
Organic 6.10 0.877 73.3 111 359 3.01 4.62 1.26
LSD (P ≤ 0.05) NSb 0.221 NS NS 108.7 NS NS 0.718
a
cfu: colony forming unit.
b
NS: not significant.

status. After five seasons, exchangeable Ca in organic plots was
higher by 49.14% over chemical intensive plots. Calcium content
of organic inputs used in the study, viz., farmyard manure, green
manure, neem cake and ash might have contributed to higher
exchangeable Ca status under organic management. About 45–80%
of soils of Kerala are reported to be deficient in Ca (Rajasekharan
et al., 2013) and improvement in Ca status through organic man-
agement in the present study is an useful management option for
alleviating soil acidity in the southern tracts of India.
Exchangeable Mg status followed a different trend with incre-
ment and decrement in alternate years and peak values were
observed during the third season (Fig. 6). Production systems
imparted significant effect on soil Mg status during the first and
third years, with superior performance of organic system. A defi-
ciency of Mg was noticed during the first two seasons in all plots,
except organic plots in the first season. After the second season,
there was a build up of Mg in all plots to the sufficiency range. By
the end of five crop cycles organic management could enhance the
Mg status considerably (+25.74%) over the conventional system.
Available Fe content of soil remained fairly static, with an excep-
tional steep rise during the second season, irrespective of the
production systems. Available Mn status showed a rising trend,
largely unaffected by the treatments (Fig. 6). The Fe and Mn sta-
tus of the soil was well above the sufficiency level, quite typical
of the laterite soils of Kerala state in India and it was unaffected
by the management systems. Noticeably the available Zn, was in
abundance under all the production systems during all the experi-
mental seasons, in contrast to the widespread Zn deficiency in India
(Chhonkar, 2008). Under organic management, available Zn status
was significantly higher during the first season, which continued
to increase up to the third season and thereafter followed a steady
pace (Fig. 6). The Cu status was sufficient in all the seasons and was
unaffected by the management options. However, after the first
season there was a drop in available Cu content with advancing sea-
sons in all the systems (Fig. 6). Though the production systems did
 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343
Fig. 6. Trend of secondary and micronutrient status of soil over seasons in the various systems.
not significantly affect the available Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu status in the
present study, by the fifth season, organic management increased
their status by 16.60, 10.45, 21.76 and 14.39% respectively over
conventional management.
The study indicates that organic farming offers opportunities to
restore and improve soil health, by enhancing organic matter levels,
neutralising soil acidity, supplying almost all essential nutrients
in available form and thereby maintaining soil fertility. A similar
trend was observed in elephant foot yam (Suja et al., 2012b) and
yams (Suja and Sreekumar, 2014). Soil pH is the most important
determinant of soil nutrient availability and enhancement of pH to
neutral range in the organic plot might have enabled the availability
of major and secondary nutrients to some extent.
3.1.4.3. Physical properties and microbial count. The soil physical
properties, bulk density, particle density, water holding capacity
and porosity were not significantly influenced by treatments. How-
ever, water holding capacity was 11.73% in organic and 9.84% in
conventional system (+19%). Microbial count of soil remained unaf-
fected due to different management practices.
Changes in organic matter contributes to changes in soil biolog-
ical and physical properties (Stockdale et al., 2001).Higher organic
matter content resulted in increased aeration, porosity and water
holding capacity of soils under organic management in tuber
crops like elephant foot yam (Suja et al., 2012b) and yams (Suja
and Sreekumar, 2014) and several crops (Droogers et al., 1996;
Gerhardt, 1997; Colla et al., 2000).
In the present study the most effective organic component was
green manuring with cowpea (incorporation of 15–20 t ha−1 of
341
green matter), which underscores the importance of using cost-
effective, eco-friendly resources to maintain the ecological balance
and crop yields.
3.2. On-farm validation
On-farm trials laid out in seven locations in Thiruvanantha-
puram and Kollam districts of Kerala state, India, to validate the
on-station developed organic farming technologies in taro indi-
cated that in all the sites, tuber yield under organic management
was equal to that of conventional practice. However, the yields
under organic management were 29% higher over chemical based
farming contrary to the results obtained on-station, where there
was a slight drop in yields in the organic system. It was because
taro leaf blight could be controlled to some extent prophylactically.
In general, there was improvement in soil pH (+0.58 unit),
signficantly higher organic C (+47.89%) and available K (+86.97%)
status under organic management in on-farm sites also. Soil micro-
bial population, especially the bacterial and fungal counts, was
also improved under organic practice (+16.21 and +18.46% respec-
tively over chemical system), in those sites (Table 4). Among the
organic manures, the most effective component was green manur-
ing with cowpea (incorporation of 15–20 t ha−1 of green matter).
The decomposition of organic manures for release of plant avail-
able nutrients involves microbial activity to a greater extent than
that in chemical fertilizer applied conventional plots, which could
contribute to higher microbial population in the organic plots. This
concurs with several earlier reports of increased microbial popu-
342 G. Suja et al. / Scientia Horticulturae 218 (2017) 334–343
lation in cultivated organically managed soils (Scow et al., 1994;
Stockdale et al., 2001).
4. Conclusion
While much controversy exists in organic vs conventional
agriculture, the present study has proved in taro that organic man-
agement is an eco-friendly option for stable yields and quality
cormel production with less soil degradation. Though slight yield
reduction was noticed under organic system (-5%), organic tubers
had higher dry matter, starch, sugars, P, K, Ca and Mg contents. The
physico-chemical properties (water holding capacity, pH, organic C,
available P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) of the soil were also improved
under organic system in taro.
The present study has also demonstrated that for a nutrient
exhausting tuber crop like taro, higher yield can be obtained by
using cheaper and on-site generated organic manures, like green
manure cowpea. Future research should focus on studies on envi-
ronmental impact, especially water and air quality effects of organic
farming and weed management options, particularly under climate
change by nonchemical and biological methods.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Director, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops
Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, for pro-
viding facilities for undertaking the on-station and on-farm
experiments.
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