Dioscorea alata
Dioscorea alata
Cultivation Details
Plants grow best in lowland tropical areas up to an elevation of 1,000 metres with a temperature around 26 - 34°c; a well-defined dry season of 4 - 5 months; and a total rainfall of 1,000 - 1,500mm evenly distributed throughout the remainder of the year[3]. Plants are not frost tolerant[4]. Amongst the many cultivars of this species, there are forms that are tolerant of a wide range of environmental conditions[3]. For best yields, this species requires a deep, well-drained, sandy loam that is not liable to water-logging[3]. It also grows well in medium to clay loams[3]. Although more tolerant of poor soils than most other members of this genus, plants respond well to the application of organic matter[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.8 - 8.5[4]. Daylengths of more than 12 hours are preferred during the early growing season since this encourages vegetative growth; daylengths of less than 12 hours towards the end of the growing season will encourage tuber formation and development[3]. Plants take 7 - 10 months to mature a crop[3]. Yields of 20 - 25 tonnes per hectare have been obtained[3]. There are some named varieties[3, 5]. A dioecious species, both male and female plants need to be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed - rarely produced in cultivation, they are not normally used to propagate this species. Cuttings of tubers. Small tubers can be cut into 2 - 4 sections, larger ones into 6 - 8 sections. Each section should have 2 - 3 dormant buds. The cut tuber is often left in the sun for several hours to promote wound healing and reduce the risk of fungal infection[3]. Aerial tubers can also be used, they usually produce vigorous plants[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dioscorea+alata>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Atlas of Medicinal Plants. — Kariyone. T. · Nihon Rinshosha; Osaka · 1973 ↩︎A good Japanese herbal.
- [2]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [3]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
- [4]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [5]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [6]Plants of Guam — Moore P.H. & McMakin P. · University of Guam. · 1979 · http://university.uog.edu/cals/people/POG/scipn.htm ↩︎Brief details, usually with a photo, of plants native to the island of Guam, often together with some information on their uses. An online version is available.
- [7]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region