The Central Potato Research Institute is mulling a seed potato production centre in Kanthaloor, Kerala. A team has started a feasibility study on this rain shadow village. ?Though there are yet to be active potato cultivation areas on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, there is potential for growing tuber crops in higher altitudes, says R Muthuvel, president of a farmer co-operative. “There has been resistance to comme-rcial cultivation of potato in non-traditional areas because health standards of the seeds were not good enough,” he said. It is the climatic and soil conditions in Kanthaloor that have interested the team. Researchers Dr Venkat and Dr Arathy have taken soil samples from Vattavada, Mattupetty and Munnar panchayats.
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