Evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) cultivars for growth and yield to determine regional specificity

Turmeric cultivars were evaluated for their suitability for the southern, dry zone of Karnataka, India, to identify a suitable high-yielding cultivar. Among sixteen turmeric cultivars evaluated, 'Salem' had the greatest plant height (37.07 cm), and maximum number of tillers per plant (3.80), 'CLT-325' had more leaves per plant (17.67), 'Cuddapah' had the highest leaf area (55.83 dm²) and leaf area index (7.40) at 180 days after planting. The maximum fresh rhizome yield of 33.67 t ha^-1 was observed in 'Salem', which was on par with 'Rajapuri' (32.67 t ha^-1), 'Prathibha' (32.56 t ha^-1), and 'CLT-325' (32.49 t ha^-1). 'Salem' also had the highest cured rhizome yield (8.31 t ha^-1) followed by 'CLT-325' (7.98 t ha^-1). Maximum percentage of curcumin was observed in roots from 'PTS-24' (7.20%) and 'Prabha' (6.45%). The medium-duration cultivars 'Cuddapah' (253 days), 'Rajapuri' (251 days), 'Salem' (240 days), 'CLT-325' (236 days), and 'PTS-24' (246 days) showed better performance compared to other cultivars in this study. 'Salem', 'Rajapuri', 'Prathibha', and 'CLT-325' appeared to be promising cultivars suitable for production in the southern dry zone (11°30'N; 12°50'N latitudes and to 75°45'E; 75°45'E longitude) of Karnataka.