Taro in West Africa: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop. Improvement through plant breeding remains the most economically and environmentally sustainable means of increasing the productivity of taro in WA. With this review, we provide insights into the importance of the taro crop in WA, evaluate taro research to date, and suggest how to address research gaps in order to promote taro sustainability in the region.

Overview of the design of bionic fine hierarchical structures for fog collection

“…However, taro (Colocasia esculenta) is the fourth most consumed crop globally. 68 The characteristic hydrophobicity of taro leaves has also received great attention. The basic structure in the surface of the taro leaf consists of microscale elliptical bumps with a diameter of around 10-30 mm, 69 which are covered by nanoscale structures, i.e., waxy nanoscale epicuticular crystals, as shown in Fig.…”

Isolation and binary fusion of taro (Colocasia esculeneta (L) Schott.) protoplast: Towards developing somatic hybridization protocol as an alternative to sexual hybridization

“…Taro (Colocasia esculenta and Colocasia antiquorum L. Schott) is an important staple root crop in Asia, Pacific Islands, and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Chaïr et al, 2016;Grimaldi and van Andel, 2018;Oladimeji et al, 2022). It belongs to family Araceae that comprises at least 100 genera and more than 1500 species (Henriquez et al, 2014).…”

Ethnobotany and perceptions on the value of taro (Colocasia esculenta) among farmers in Benin Republic

“…Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a tropical root crop propagated vegetatively and is native to Southeast Asia (Dastidar, 2009;Matthews and Nguyen, 2014). It is the 9th most widely grown food crop in the world, with cultivation throughout Africa (Oladimeji et al, 2022;Rashmi et al, 2018). The corms and flowers are utilized in dishes in West Africa (Grimaldi, 2016), and their sociocultural, historical, and spiritual significance is highly valued in Oceania and the Pacific (Grimaldi, 2016).…”