Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities

Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a resu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oladimeji, J.J., Kumar, P. Lava, Abe, A., Vetukuri, R.R., Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/122023
_version_ 1855523128486133760
author Oladimeji, J.J.
Kumar, P. Lava
Abe, A.
Vetukuri, R.R.
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
author_browse Abe, A.
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Kumar, P. Lava
Oladimeji, J.J.
Vetukuri, R.R.
author_facet Oladimeji, J.J.
Kumar, P. Lava
Abe, A.
Vetukuri, R.R.
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
author_sort Oladimeji, J.J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop. Improvement through plant breeding remains the most economically and environmentally sustainable means of increasing the productivity of taro in WA. With this review, we provide insights into the importance of the taro crop in WA, evaluate taro research to date, and suggest how to address research gaps in order to promote taro sustainability in the region.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace122023
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher MDPI
publisherStr MDPI
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1220232025-12-08T10:29:22Z Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities Oladimeji, J.J. Kumar, P. Lava Abe, A. Vetukuri, R.R. Bhattacharjee, Ranjana taro improvement west africa germplasm collections food crops Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop. Improvement through plant breeding remains the most economically and environmentally sustainable means of increasing the productivity of taro in WA. With this review, we provide insights into the importance of the taro crop in WA, evaluate taro research to date, and suggest how to address research gaps in order to promote taro sustainability in the region. 2022-09-01 2022-10-05T08:46:55Z 2022-10-05T08:46:55Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/122023 en Open Access application/pdf MDPI Oladimeji, J.J., Kumar, P., Abe, A., Vetukuri, R.R. & Bhattacharjee, R. (2022). Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities. Agronomy, 12(9): 2094, 1-20.
spellingShingle taro
improvement
west africa
germplasm collections
food crops
Oladimeji, J.J.
Kumar, P. Lava
Abe, A.
Vetukuri, R.R.
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title_full Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title_fullStr Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title_full_unstemmed Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title_short Taro in west Africa: status, challenges, and opportunities
title_sort taro in west africa status challenges and opportunities
topic taro
improvement
west africa
germplasm collections
food crops
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/122023
work_keys_str_mv AT oladimejijj taroinwestafricastatuschallengesandopportunities
AT kumarplava taroinwestafricastatuschallengesandopportunities
AT abea taroinwestafricastatuschallengesandopportunities
AT vetukurirr taroinwestafricastatuschallengesandopportunities
AT bhattacharjeeranjana taroinwestafricastatuschallengesandopportunities