India: How True Potato Seed technology is reshaping agriculture in Kashmir

Irshad Ahmad Dar, a forward-thinking farmer from Patalbagh village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, has successfully grown a potato crop using true potato seed (TPS) technology, under the guidance of scientists from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology Kashmir (SKUAST-K). As Javid Sofi reports for Rising Kashmir, TPS is a unique cultivation technique wherein potatoes are grown from seeds instead of tubers. This method is particularly suited for high-altitude regions with specific climatic conditions. After flowering, the potato plant yields fruits that bear seeds similar in appearance to tomato seeds, but smaller. SKUAST-K’s Dr Baseerat Afroza, Head of the Department of Vegetable Sciences, stated that a mere 100 grams of these seeds is sufficient to cultivate an entire hectare of land. Potatoes grown using TPS technology are typically smaller “mini tubers” which can be replanted in the following season to yield ware ...