Taro or Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) is a tropical plant grown primarily as a root vegetable for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in Oceanic cultures. It is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants. Because of taro’s similarity to the potato, it is sometimes called the “potato of the tropics.” It is also known as kalo in Hawaiian, and as dasheen in some other parts of the world.
Typical of leaf vegetables, taro leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and zinc, and a very good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, copper, and manganese. Taro corms are very high in starch, and are a good source of dietary fiber.
In the Philippines, taro is called gabi. A popular recipe for taro is called “laing” which originates from the Bicol region in Southern Luzon. The dish’s main ingredients are taro stem and leaf cooked in coconut milk, salted with fermented shrimp or fish bagoong. It is also heavily spiced with red hot chilies called siling labuyo.
Another dish where taro finds common use in the Filipino kitchen is the Philippine national stew, called sinigang. This sour stew may be made with pork and beef, shrimp, or fish. Peeled and diced taro is a basic ingredient of pork sinigang.
Finally, the third most common use of taro in the Filipino diet is in ginataan, literally meaning “cooked with coconut milk”. This form of dessert, where coconut milk and taro are combined along with indigenous ingredients such as sago and jackfruit, is shared throughout most Southeast Asian cuisines.
Production of Taro or Gabi
Description of the Plant
Taro or Cocoyam
- Taro never has an aerial stem.
- Taro leaves are a lighter green and less shiny. They are smaller. The leaf blade is thin and flexible. The leaf-stalk is thin, flexible and has no sheath.
- The leaf-stalk is not a continuation of the midrib.
- The taro leaf- stalk is not attached to the edge of the leaf, but near the center of the leaf blade.
- The underground stem varies a lot. It may be round or flat, branching or not branching.
- The underground stems of taro often produce secondary tubers, but they are smaller. It is chiefly the bigger, central tuber that is used for food. It remains tender when ripe, at harvest time.
Varieties of Taro
The tubers may be large or small, with flesh that is yellow, red or white, hard or soft, that becomes floury after cooking, or doughy.
Climate
Taro require- a warm, humid climate. If you live in a region with not much rain, it is better to grow taro.
Soil
Taro need well- loosened soil that is very cool and rich in humus. Some varieties can even be planted in land that is often flooded.
Propagating
Taro are usually propagated from small tubers or pieces of tuber. Sometimes the suckers, or new shoots that appear some distance from the parent plant, are used. The tubers, pieces of tuber or of aerial stem are cut into pieces 10 to 15 centimeters long; the leaf- stalks are cut at about 10 centimeters from the junction with the leaf.
Planting
Taro may be planted by themselves. Or they may be planted with other crops in the same field. For example, they can be grown in the shade of a plantation of plantains. They can also be grown under the dense foliage of big forest trees. Because taro have large leaves, they may be used as a cover crop when starting a new cocoa plantation.
Planting is done at the beginning of the rainy season in rather shallow holes. When grown alone, the distance between the holes may be 60 centimeters in all directions, or else 60 centimeters by 80 centimeters. When grown with other crops, for example, when taro are used to shade young cocoa trees, the distance between the holes varies between 50 centimeters and 1 meter.
Looking after the Plantation
Taro require very little care. One or two cultivations in the early stages of growth are all that is necessary before the harvest. Often the plants are lightly earthed up when these cultivations are carried out.
Harvesting
Depending on variety, taro are between 6 and 14 months in the field. The tubers are ripe and ready for harvest when the leaves turn yellow and the plant begins to wither. The fully ripe tubers should be harvested in dry weather. If you harvest during the dry season, the tubers may be left in the earth for some time and will not spoil. When the field is wet, the ripe tubers must be harvested quickly. They may sprout and will then be no good for human food.
Each taro plant may yield several harvests during one crop period. As a rule, the harvests should be organized as follows:
- For taro – The first harvest begins 6 to 8 months after planting. After that, harvest again two or three times from the same plant at intervals of 2 or 3 weeks.
When harvesting dig out the soil right up to the plant, take the biggest tubers and detach them from the parent plant. Then fill in the hole. Let the young tubers develop before harvesting again.
Storing the Tubers
The harvested tubers are cleaned and can be sold fresh. But taro tubers may be kept for some time, and eaten as and when needed. To keep the tubers for some months after harvesting, you must prevent them from rotting. To do that, put the tubers on dry ground, or on boards supported on posts, in a well- aired, dry, cool place, sheltered from the sun and rain.
Taro in Human Food
The leaves of taro are used in human food as vegetables. They may also be given to animals as fodder. The underground stems of taro often bear tubers. The central tuber, which is the biggest and yet soft, is the one chiefly used for food.
Sources: Better Farming Series 16 and wikipedia.org; Photos: wikipedia.org