Sweet potato and taro resilent to stresses: Sustainable livelihood in fragile zones vulnerable to climate changes

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) and taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] are the important tuber crops used as staple or subsistence food by millions of people in developing nations. Both tubers and leaves of these crops are alternative source of dietary energy. Gene flow through conventional breeding is hindered owing to flowering behaviour, cytogenetical anomalies in taro and hexaploidy coupled with self incompatibility in sweet potato. To make these crops more resilient, an extensive study was taken up integrating conventional and non- conventional methods to tap the vast potential of genetic diversity in isolating the stress tolerant sweet potato and taro genotypes. The varietal gene bank of sweet potato maintained at Regional Centre farm were also tested under in situ to study tolerance to environmental stresses. Under such conditions, percentage of leaf damage and vine weight was recorded to identify the varieties to cope with unfavorable agro-climatic conditions. Results to isolate and develop stress tolerant sweet potato, taro and their impact on livelihood security under climatic adversities are discussed.