Varietal Performance of Turmeric (Curcuma Longa L.) in Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka

A field experiment was conducted during 2012–13 and 2013–14 to evaluate and identify superior and most promising variety of Turmeric suitable for Chamarajanagar district. Five varieties of turmeric viz., Chaitanya, IISR Prabha, IISR Pratibha, IISR Allepy supreme and Chamarajanagar local varieties were evaluated. Average data of two years revealed that the variety IISR Pratibha recorded highest fresh (345.43 q/ha) and cured rhizome (70.36 q/ha) yield followed by IISR Allepy supreme and IISR Prabha, while in curing percentage IISR Allepy supreme (22.3%) was found to be superior followed by IISR Prabha and IISR Pratibha. With regard to rhizome numbers and their length, IISR Pratibha produced more number of rhizome (10.75), maximum length (10.12 cm) and girth (2.13 cm) followed by IISR Allepy supreme. The varieties IISR Prabha, IISR Pratibha and IISR Allepy supreme were found to be early duration types (230.75 to 234.50 d) compared to Chaitanya and Chamarajanagar local, which matured relatively late (265.13 to 269.81 d). IISR Pratibha recorded significantly highest per day productivity (149.11 kg/day) followed by IISR Allepy supreme (134.12 kg/day). With respect to curcumin content, IISR Allepy supreme recorded highest (5.73%) followed by IISR Pratibha (5.20%). Over and all, IISR Pratibha and IISR Allepy supreme excelled.