TNAU advises potato farmers to go in for sowing in Feb-Mar

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has advised potato farmers to go in for sowing in February-March as prices of good quality potato would be around Rs 25-27 per kg in May-June.
TNAU's Agro Marketing Intelligence and Business Promotion Centre arrived at this price after analysing price behaviour of potato in last 23 years in Nilgiris Cooperative Marketing Society in Mettupalayam.
It said potato sown in February-March is harvested in May and June and considering the expected price, farmers can sow potato crop.
India produced 46.39 million tonnes of potato over an area of 2.024 million hectares in 2013-14. Uttar Pradesh with 32 per cent, West Bengal (26 per cent) and Bihar (14 per cent) accounted for more than 70 per cent of total production.

The area and production of potato in Tamil Nadu was 5,350 hectares and 1.16 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, an increase of 35 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, as compared to last year, it said.
Potatoes in the state are mainly grown in hilly districts of Dindigul, Nilgiris, Krishnagiri and Erode and also arrive from other states like Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and are stored in cold storage only for seed purpose, it added.