Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is an important potato growing state in southern India, although potato occupies a relatively small area compared with major crops such as rice, maize and tapioca. Production is concentrated mainly in the cooler and higher-elevation areas of Dindigul and the Nilgiris, with smaller areas in Krishnagiri and Erode. According to the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Economics and Statistics, potato covered about 7,500 hectares in 2021–22, with Dindigul accounting for 70.67% of the state's potato area, followed by the Nilgiris at 21.33%, while Erode and Krishnagiri each accounted for about 4%.

The Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hills provide favourable environments for potato because of their cooler temperatures, elevation and horticultural soils. The Nilgiris is particularly suited to temperate vegetables, including potato, cabbage, carrot and beans, while potato is also cultivated in several parts of the Kodaikanal highlands of Dindigul district. Current Tamil Nadu agricultural records continue to show potato cultivation in Kodaikanal and surrounding villages, demonstrating the crop's continuing importance in the state's hill horticulture.

Potato production in Tamil Nadu has also been closely associated with agricultural research and varietal improvement. Potato research at Nanjanad near Ooty began in 1917 and subsequent research contributed to the development and evaluation of varieties suited to southern hill conditions. The region has historically faced important production constraints, particularly potato cyst nematode, late blight, irrigation limitations, input quality and post-harvest management. Research and breeding efforts have therefore focused on varieties with improved yield and resistance to major pests and diseases.

Potato cultivation in the Nilgiris has a history extending back to the early nineteenth century. Historical agricultural literature records that a 5-pound potato was grown in Mr. Sullivan's garden at Stonehouse Hill in 1824, although the exact date when commercial potato cultivation began in the Nilgiris is uncertain. John Sullivan, an early British administrator associated with the development of Ootacamund, was involved in introducing European horticultural crops to the hills. By the early twentieth century, potato had become an established crop among farming communities in the Nilgiris.

By the twentieth century, potato had developed into a major hill crop and an important subject of agricultural research in the region. A historical study published in the Madras Agricultural Journal noted that potato cultivation in the Nilgiris was largely carried out by the Badaga farming community, alongside larger commercial holdings. The area under cultivation expanded substantially during the first half of the twentieth century, while research institutions worked on fertilizer management, varietal improvement and disease control. Potato cyst nematode was identified in the Nilgiris in 1961, leading to extensive surveys, quarantine measures and government-supported control programmes during the following decade. These developments made the Nilgiris an important centre for potato research and disease-management work in southern India.