Meghalaya Farmers Transform Seed Potato Output Using Apical Rooted Cuttings

A grassroots initiative in Meghalaya is transforming seed potato production through the adoption of Apical Rooted Cuttings technology, according to a report released by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Developed and standardized by the ICAR–Central Potato Research Institute, the method allows smallholder growers to produce certified, disease-free planting material directly at the community level.

For decades, potato cultivation across India's North-Eastern Hill region has faced acute supply constraints and declining productivity. Farmers throughout Meghalaya have historically depended on seed consignments transported over long distances from northern states like Punjab, incurring substantial freight costs and frequent transit delays.

Because commercial seed shipments rarely met peak local demand, growers routinely recycled saved tubers from previous harvests. This practice triggered severe seed degeneration and left crops vulnerable to late blight and systemic viral infections, holding average yields in the hill tracts far below the national benchmark.

To overcome these structural bottlenecks, ICAR-CPRI evaluated and adapted Apical Rooted Cuttings protocols specifically for regional agro-climatic conditions between 2019 and 2021. The technique uses tissue-cultured mother plants to produce rooted stem cuttings, serving as an accessible and low-cost alternative to capital-intensive multiplication systems like aeroponics.

The on-ground breakthrough took shape in Wahlynkien village, situated within the East Khasi Hills district, where the Iaisanlang Farmers Group established a pilot nursery. Supported by the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency under the Meghalaya Livelihoods and Access to Markets Project, the group received intensive agronomic training from ICAR scientists to manage operations in a 200-square-meter net house.

Field demonstrations incorporated climate-resilient and high-yielding varieties developed by CPRI, notably Kufri Himalini, Kufri Megha, and Kufri Giriraj. By refining micro-climate management and substrate sterilization, the farmer group progressively increased cutting survival rates from an initial 70 to 80 percent in 2022 up to 80 to 90 percent by 2023.

The physiological gains quickly translated into tangible output as production of initial minitubers rose from 7,000 units to approximately 9,000 units. By the summer harvest of 2024, the Wahlynkien demonstration facility yielded 2,670 kilograms of high-grade seed potatoes, establishing a self-renewing pipeline of vigorous planting stock for surrounding villages.

Agricultural economists emphasize that decentralized seed production dramatically alters farm-level economics in highland communities. By cultivating their own planting stock, local farmers bypass predatory middleman markups, slash working capital requirements, and protect their subsequent table-potato crops against soil-borne pathogens.

The success in East Khasi Hills also provides a replicable template for neighboring northeastern states facing similar logistical handicaps. State agencies and development partners are now exploring broader rural net-house rollouts to gradually elevate Meghalaya from a seed-deficit territory into a regional supplier capable of feeding commercial potato corridors in Assam and beyond.

ICAR officials noted that expanding the technology will depend on sustained institutional backing, structured nursery credit, and reliable tissue-culture distribution channels. If these rural multiplication clusters continue to scale, the institute anticipates that community-managed cuttings can permanently anchor regional food security and secure livelihoods for smallholders across the Eastern Himalayas.