Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] production in Japan: Present state, problems and prospects

Tetsuo MIKAMI, Sakio TSUTSUI

Abstract


Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott], a member of the family Araceae, is a vegetatively propagated crop with edible tubers (corms and cormels), petioles and leaf blades. Available evidence suggests that taro originated in South Central Asia, probably in the tropical region from India to Indonesia. The crop is considered to have reached Japan by the 10th century B. C.. In Japan, taro was a regional staple crop before the beginning of rice cultivation, but it is nowadays grown as a root vegetable. The corms and cormels of taro are an excellent source of carbohydrates and rich in essential minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber. Additionally, Japanese people have formed socio-cultural connections to the crop since olden times; taro has been served in traditional feasting and seasonal events. Despite having so much value, taro cultivation has shown declining trends in the past several decades. It should also be noted that little attention has been devoted to the genetic improvement of taro. In this review, an attempt is made to collect information about the commercial production and uses of Japanese taros as well as agronomic characteristics of leading cultivars, with the expectation that the synthesized information will aid in understanding the problems and prospects of taro cultivation in Japan.


Keywords


agronomic characteristics; breeding; corm; cormel; cultivar; early maturing genotype; taro; traditional food

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ashkenazi, M., Jacob, J. (2003). Food culture in Japan. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Banjaw, D. T. (2017). Review of taro (Colocasia esculenta) genetics and breeding. Journal of Horticulture, 4, 196. https://doi.org/10.4172/2376-0354.1000196

Bhattacharjee, M., Tarafdar, J., Sadhukhan, R. (2014). Assessment of genetic diversity of some indigenous collections of upland taro [Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorium (L.) Schott] for selection of genotypes aiming at improvement in breeding programme. IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 7(7), 31-43. https://doi.org/10.9790/2380-07713143

Bown, D. (2000). Aroids. Plants of the arum family. Portland: Timber Press.

Campo, I. S., Beghin, J. C. (2005). Dairy food consumption, production, and policy in Japan. CARD Working Papers. 418. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_workingpapers/418

Chaïr, H., Traore, R. E., Duval, M. F., Rivallan, R., Mukherjee, A., Aboagye, L. M., …Lebot, V. (2016). Genetic diversification and dispersal of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott). PLoS ONE, 11(6), e0157712. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157712

Deo, P. C., Tyagi, A. P., Taylor, M., Becker, D. K., Harding, R. M. (2009). Improving taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta) production using biotechnological approaches. South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, 27, 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1071/SP09002

Devi, A. A. (2012). Genetic diversity analysis in taro using molecular markers – An overview. Journal of Root Crops, 38(1), 15-25.

Devi, K. S., Singh, K. J., Devi, A. K. B., Mandal, J., Singh, H. B. (2016). Morphological evaluation of taro (Colocasia esculenta Linn.) genotypes collected from Manipur State of India and their yield performance. Journal of Root Crops, 42(2), 18-23.

Ebert, A. W., Waqainabete, L. M. (2018). Conserving and sharing taro genetic resources for the benefit of global taro cultivation: A core contribution of the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees. Biopreservation and Biobanking, 16(5), 361-367. https://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2018.0017

FAO. (2019). FAOSTAT database. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home

Helmkampf, M., Wolfgruber, T. K., Bellinger, M. R., Paudel, R., Kantar, M. B., Miyasaka, S. C., Shintaku, M. (2018). Phylogenetic relationships, breeding implications, and cultivation history of Hawaiian taro (Colocasia esculenta) through genome-wide SNP genotyping. Journal of Heredity, 109(3), 272-282. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esx070

Hirai, M., Sato, T., Takayanagi, K. (1989). Classification of Japanese cultivars of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) based on electrophoretic pattern of the tuber proteins and morphological characters. Japanese Journal of Breeding, 39, 307-317. https://doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs1951.39.307

Isshiki, S., Nakamura, N., Tashiro, Y., Miyazaki, S. (1998). Classification of the cultivars of Japanese taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] by isozyme analyses. Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science, 67(4), 521-525. https://doi.org/10.2503/jjshs.67.521

Isshiki, S., Otsuka, K., Tashiro, Y., Miyazaki, S. (1999). A probable origin of triploids in taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott]. Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science, 68(4), 774-779. https://doi.org/10.2503/jjshs.68.774

Ivančič, A., Lebot, V. (2000). The genetics and breeding of taro. Séries Repères, Montpellier: CIRAD

Kumazawa, S., Niuchi, K., Honda, F. (1956). Classification of the taro varieties in Japan. Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science, 25(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.2503/jjshs.25.1 (in Japanese)

Kusaka, S., Ishimaru, E., Hyodo, F., Gakuhari, T., Yoneda, M., Yumoto, T., Tayasu, I. (2016). Homogeneous diet of contemporary Japanese inferred from stable isotope ratios of hair. Scientific Reports, 6, 33122. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep.33122

Liu, H., You, Y., Zheng, X., Diao, Y., Huang, X., Hu, Z. (2015). Deep sequencing of the Colocasia esculenta transcriptome revealed candidate genes for major metabolic pathways of starch synthesis. South African Journal of Botany, 97, 101-106. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2014.11.008

MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan). (2019). Statistics of taro production. Retrieved from http://www.maff.go.jp/j/tokei/kouhyou/sakumotu/index.html (in Japanese)

Manner, H. I., Taylor, M. (2011). Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for taro (Colocasia esculenta). In C. R. Elevitch (Ed.), Specialty crops for Pacific Island agroforestry. (pp. 1-34). Holualoa, Hawaii: Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR). http://agroforestry.net/scps

Matsuda, M., Nawata, E. (1999). Isozyme variation in taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, from China, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, and Japan: Its dispersal into Japan. Tropics, 8(4), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.3759/tropics.8.397

Matthews, P. J. (2004). Genetic diversity in taro, and the preservation of culinary knowledge. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 2, 55-71. https://doi.org/10.17348/era.2.0.55-71

Matthews, P. J. (2010). An introduction to the history of taro as a food. In R. V. Ramanatha, P. J. Matthews, P. B. Eyzaguirre, D. Hunter (Eds.), The global diversity of taro: Ethnobotany and conservation (pp. 6-29). Rome: Bioversity International.

Matthews, P. J., Matsushita, Y., Hirai, M. (1992). Ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA variation in Japanese taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott. Japanese Journal of Breeding, 42, 825-833. https://doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs1951.42.825

Nakagawa, T., Asaumi, H., Tamaki, M., Morikawa, T. (2016). ‘Himekaguya’, a new taro cultivar in Ehime prefecture. Bulletin of the Ehime Research Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 8, 19-23. (in Japanese)

Nakao, S. (1966). The origin of cultivated plants and agriculture. Tokyo: Iwanami-shoten. (in Japanese)

Nishimoto, T., Maegawa, H., Yamaguchi, T., Takamura, H., Matoba, T. (2009). Varietal differences in the cookability of taro corms. Journal of Cookery Science of Japan, 42(2), 129-134. https://doi.org/10.11402/cookeryscience.42.129 (in Japanese)

Ochiai, T., Nguyen, V. X., Tahara, M., Yoshino, H. (2001). Geographical differentiation of Asian taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, detected by RAPD and isozyme analyses. Euphytica, 122, 219-234. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012967922502

OECD. (2009). Evaluation of agricultural policy reforms in Japan. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264061545-en

Onwueme, I. (1999). Taro cultivation in Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok: RAP Publication.

Pérez-de-Castro, A. M., Vilanova, S., Cañizares, J., Pascual, L., Blanca, J. M., Diez, M. J., Picó, B. (2012). Application of genomic tools in plant breeding. Current Genomics, 13(3), 179-195. https://doi.org/10.2174/138920212800543084

Quero-García, J., Courtois, B., Ivančič, A., Letourmy, P., Risterucci, A. M., Noyer, J. L., Lebot, V. (2006). First genetic maps and QTL studies of yield traits of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott). Euphytica, 151, 187-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-006-9139-y

Sasaki, K. (1971). The agriculture before rice cultivation. Tokyo: Nippon Hoso Shuppan Kyokai. (in Japanese)

Shiga, Y., Nakayasu, K., Fujiwara, K., Tsutsui, S. (2011). Growth and yield of early-maturing taro cultivars grown in mulched ridges. Proceedings of the Hokkaido Society for Horticultural Research, 44, 40-41. (in Japanese)

Silva Dias, J. C. (2015). Plant breeding for harmony between modern agriculture production and the environment. Agricultural Science, 6, 87-116. http://doi.org/10.4236/as.2015.61008

Soulard, L., Mournet, P., Guitton, B., Chaïr, H. (2017). Construction of two genetic linkage maps of taro using single nucleotide polymorphism and microsatellite markers. Molecular Breeding, 37, 37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0646-4

Tahara, M., Suefuji, S., Ochiai, T., Yoshino, H. (1999). Phylogenetic relationships of taro, Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott and related taxa by non-coding chloroplast DNA sequence analysis. Aroideana, 22, 79-89.

Takeuchi, J., Nagashima, T. (2012). Low-malt beer brewing using of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) as a secondary material. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi, 59(3), 146-152. https://doi.org/10.3136/nskkk.59.146 (in Japanese)

Wilson, J. E., Cable, W. J. (1984). Promotion of flowering, seed production and seedling screening in minor edible aroids. In Proceedings of the 6th Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (pp. 151-156). Lima: International Potato Center.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14720/aas.2019.114.2.4

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019 Tetsuo Mikami, Sakio Tsutsui

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

Acta agriculturae Slovenica is an Open Access journal published under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY License.

                           


eISSN 1854-1941