West Bengal

West Bengal is one of India’s major potato growing states and has developed a strong rabi potato production system within its predominantly rice-based agricultural landscape. Potato is cultivated extensively across the state’s alluvial plains, with important production areas in districts such as Hooghly, Nadia, Bardhaman, Murshidabad and parts of North Bengal. The crop benefits from the cool and relatively dry winter period, fertile alluvial soils and widespread irrigation. ICAR identifies potato as one of the state’s important crops, alongside rice, mustard, pulses and jute.

The central and southern plains have traditionally been important potato producing zones, while North Bengal has also expanded potato cultivation, including opportunities in rice-fallow systems. Research in the eastern sub-Himalayan plains has evaluated a wide range of cultivars, including Kufri Pukhraj, Kufri Arun, Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Khyati and several processing varieties. In one multi-year evaluation in the eastern sub-Himalayan region, Kufri Arun and Kufri Pukhraj recorded high tuber yields, while Kufri Surya showed useful performance under terminal heat conditions.

West Bengal’s potato sector serves both fresh consumption and processing markets. Varieties such as Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Pukhraj and Kufri Chandramukhi have historically been important in the state, while Kufri Chipsona types have relevance for processing. Variety selection is particularly important because the state includes contrasting environments, from the alluvial plains to saline coastal areas and the cooler Terai region of North Bengal. Research and extension programmes led by Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya and ICAR-linked programmes have focused on improved varieties, disease management, seed quality, storage and production technologies suited to West Bengal conditions.

Potato became established in the agricultural economy of Bengal during the broader expansion of potato cultivation in India during the colonial period. After independence, systematic potato improvement and production research accelerated through ICAR and the Central Potato Research Institute, helping transform potato from a relatively localized crop into an important commercial crop in the Indo-Gangetic and eastern plains. West Bengal subsequently became one of the country's principal potato producing regions, supported by favourable winter temperatures, irrigation and increasing market demand. ICAR reports that potato production in West Bengal increased several-fold over the past four decades as farmers increasingly incorporated potato as a high-value rabi crop into traditional rice-based systems.

The state's varietal history also reflects the development of Indian potato breeding. Kufri Jyoti, released in 1968, became particularly important in West Bengal and was reported as the dominant variety in the state in a 2015 varietal adoption assessment, followed by Kufri Pukhraj and Kufri Chandramukhi. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya's potato programme has subsequently evaluated newer cultivars, identifying Kufri Himalini and Kufri Khyati as potential replacements for Kufri Jyoti in West Bengal. Research has also addressed region-specific constraints such as common scab in the plains and salinity in coastal areas, illustrating the continuing adaptation of potato production to West Bengal's diverse agro-ecological conditions.