Kufri Neelkanth is a new table purpose medium maturing specialty potato cultivar released for North Indian plains. It is rich in antioxidants (anthocyanins > 100µg/100g fresh wt. & carotenoids~200 µg/100g fresh wt.) and the average yield of the hybrid is 35-38 t/ha. The tubers of the hybrid are dark purple black, ovoid in shape with medium deep eyes, cream flesh, good storability, medium dry matter (18%) and medium dormancy with excellent flavour. The tubers are easy to cook, free from after cooking discolouration and have mealy texture.
In India mostly white or yellow skin potatoes are preferred, however red skin potatoes have been in demand in eastern India and are now being preferred in some pockets of North-Western and West-central plains as well. ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla has developed and released first ever purple coloured indigenous specialty potato variety Kufri Neelkanth with comparatively high anitoxidents. The variety is suitable for cultivation in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttraakhand plains, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and similar agro-ecologies. Kufri Neelkanth has out-preformed popular varieties namely Kufri Lalit, Kufri Lalima and Kufri Sindhuri. The variety is fertilizer responsive and capable of yielding 35–38 t/ha under optimum agronomical practices.
Potatoes are often misconceived as carbohydrate rich junk food, inferior food therefore, enrichment of potatoes by bio-fortification with antioxidants as in this case shall certainly establish its nutritional significance and popularity among the consumers.
"With the removal of misconceptions among populations, potatoes might play the role of nutritious source of food and become ‘bread of life’"
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