High-Yielding and Acceptable Tugui (Dioscorea esculenta) Accessions for the Ilocos

Noralyn  B. Legaspi,; Beatriz  S. Malab,

High-Yielding and Acceptable Tugui (Dioscorea esculenta) Accessions for the Ilocos

Abstract:

Yam or tugui (Dioscorea esculenta) is a cash crop grown by Ilocos farmers in sloping and marginal areas. However, productivity is limited to about 2.6 t ha-1 –3.3 t ha-1 only due to the absence of a recommended high-yielding variety. To respond to this need, several experiments were conducted to identify promising accessions that could be recommended to farmers. After three years of evaluation both on-station and on-farm, six accessions (# 9, 3, 2, 1, 4, and 15) were found promising, with mean yields ranging from 13.33 t ha-1 to 14.54 t ha-1 , which is equivalent to an ROI of at least 1.63. These accessions are also highly acceptable to consumers. With the promising accessions, planting of tugui can now become a more productive farming endeavor. With these, the marginal and/or idle lands can be made productive and be used to support the government’s program on food security.