Gujarat

Gujarat has developed into one of India’s important potato producing states, particularly for both table and processing potatoes. Potato cultivation is concentrated mainly in North Gujarat, where Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Mehsana and Patan form an important production belt. Banaskantha, with Deesa as a major production centre, has a particularly strong association with potato cultivation. Gujarat’s relatively cool and dry winter, irrigation availability and suitable soils in North Gujarat support intensive potato production, while mechanized planting and harvesting have become increasingly common.

Deesa and the surrounding Banaskantha region are particularly significant in Gujarat’s potato industry. The area is known for intensive winter potato cultivation and has developed a strong network of seed production, trading, storage and processing activities. Potato is marketed through important centres including Deesa, while Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Gondal, Porbandar and Vadodara also serve as major assembling or trading markets. The state’s potato sector has increasingly connected farm production with food processing industries, especially the manufacture of potato chips and French fries.

Gujarat is also an important location for potato processing and varietal research. Around 29–30% of the state’s potato area was reported as being devoted to processing potatoes in 2019–20, with the remainder primarily serving the table potato market. Research at Deesa has evaluated varieties for yield, dry matter, storage behaviour and processing quality. Varieties such as Kufri Chipsona have been assessed for chip production, while newer cultivars including Kufri Daksh and Kufri Chipsona 5 are recommended for Gujarat and other central plains. ICAR has also identified Kufri Tejas, a heat tolerant variety, as suitable for Gujarat.

Potato has a long history in Gujarat. Historical agricultural literature records potato cultivation in the Surat area as early as 1675, reportedly using seed imported from abroad. The crop later became established in northern Gujarat, including the former Palanpur State. Historical accounts indicate that potato cultivation was encouraged around Deesa during the Palanpur period, helping establish the crop in an area that subsequently became one of Gujarat’s most important potato growing regions.

Scientific potato research gave further momentum to the industry during the twentieth century. The All India Coordinated Potato Improvement Project sub-centre at Deesa was established in 1971–72 with ICAR support, and the research programme was strengthened during the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1975–80). The Deesa centre subsequently became an important base for research on varieties, production practices, seed systems and processing potatoes adapted to Gujarat’s conditions. Research published from Deesa in the 1980s and 2000s included work on true potato seed and the evaluation of processing cultivars, contributing to the region’s development as a specialized potato production and processing centre.