The Indian Council of Agricultural Research Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI) has developed Kufri Jamunia, a purple potato with deep purple skin and purple flesh that is naturally enriched with Vitamin C, anthocyanins, carotenoids, zinc and iron. The variety was officially released and notified in 2024 for cultivation in the North Indian plains and was highlighted by the government on 18 October 2026 as a biofortified staple to improve nutritional security. Kufri Jamunia builds on two earlier coloured varieties from the same institute, Kufri Neelkanth and Kufri Manik, and offers higher antioxidant levels than both.
What Is Purple Potato Kufri Jamunia?
The purple potato Kufri Jamunia is a medium maturing, table purpose potato variety with dark purple skin and purple flesh, oblong shape, shallow eyes and a mealy texture. Each plant produces 10 to 12 medium to large tubers, and the crop matures in about 90 to 100 days. The purple colour comes from natural plant pigments called anthocyanins, while the yellow orange pigments are called carotenoids. Both act as antioxidants that help protect body cells from damage.
Kufri Jamunia is a biofortified potato. Biofortification means breeding a food crop to carry higher levels of vitamins and minerals in its edible part, without changing food habits. Unlike fortification, where nutrients are added during processing, the extra nutrition in Kufri Jamunia is present in the tuber itself. The variety yields 32 to 35 tonnes per hectare under recommended practices, with station trials recording up to 49 tonnes per hectare at 90 days and nearly 90 percent marketable tubers. It shows medium dormancy of 6 to 8 weeks, which means tubers do not sprout quickly, and it has very good keeping quality with low rottage and low weight loss.
What Is Hidden Hunger and Why Does Biofortification Matter?
Hidden hunger is a form of malnutrition in which people get enough calories but still lack essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and folate. The lack is hidden because the person may not feel hungry, yet the deficiency weakens immunity, slows growth in children, causes anaemia and reduces learning ability. In India, iron deficiency anaemia affects a large share of women, adolescent girls and young children.
Biofortified crops address this gap through daily food itself. Potato is well suited for this approach because it is the most eaten non grain food crop in the world and gives more edible energy per unit of land and time than most cereals. About 85 percent of the potato plant biomass is usable as food, compared to about 50 percent for cereals. India is the second largest potato producer in the world, with production of around 53 to 54 million tonnes from about 2.16 to 2.25 million hectares in recent years. When a widely eaten staple like potato carries more iron, zinc and antioxidants, even small daily servings improve intake for women, children and low income families without the need for pills or supplements.
Nutritional Profile of Kufri Jamunia
The ICAR-CPRI highlights Kufri Jamunia as nutritionally superior to common yellow or white skinned potatoes. Its flesh contains about 42.05 mg of anthocyanins per 100 g, while its skin contains about 80.66 mg per 100 g. The flesh also contains about 42.75 mg of Vitamin C per 100 g, about 161 micrograms of carotenoids per 100 g, about 22.77 parts per million zinc and about 32.23 parts per million iron. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron and supports immunity and skin health. Anthocyanins and carotenoids help neutralise harmful free radicals, and studies link them with better heart health, lower inflammation and healthier blood pressure.
The gap with ordinary potato is sharp when compared for the same 100 g of fresh tuber.
| Nutrient (per 100 g fresh weight) | Kufri Jamunia | Common Yellow Potato |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 42.75 mg | 23.15 mg |
| Zinc | 2.28 mg | 0.28 mg |
| Iron | 3.22 mg | 0.57 mg |
| Anthocyanins in flesh | 42.05 mg | negligible to nil |
| Carotenoids in flesh | 161 micrograms | 27 to 74 micrograms |
Kufri Jamunia also has 17 to 19 percent tuber dry matter, which gives it a mealy texture and makes it easy to cook in 15 to 20 minutes. Tasters rated it highly for appearance, flavour and taste. In an organoleptic test with 64 persons, 95 percent graded Kufri Jamunia from good to excellent for overall acceptability. Least peeling loss, shallow eyes and absence of cracking or hollow heart add to its kitchen value.
How Was Kufri Jamunia Developed and Where Will It Grow?
The ICAR-CPRI bred Kufri Jamunia from a cross made in 2015 at Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh between MS/8-1148, an indigenous clone rich in Vitamin C, and CP4242, a dark purple clone with purple flesh. The selected clone, coded MSP/16-307, passed preliminary and confirmatory trials in 2019 to 2021 and then multi location trials under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Potato during 2021-22 and 2022-23 at 15 locations across the North Indian plains. The 41st Group Meeting of the project in October 2023 at Hisar recommended it for release. The Central Sub Committee on Crop Standards approved it in July 2024 and the variety was notified in the Official Gazette on 13 November 2024 as Kufri Jamunia.
The ICAR-CPRI has recommended Kufri Jamunia for the northern, central and eastern plains. The list includes Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand plains, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. These regions offer the cool winter season and irrigated light soils that potato needs, and they already account for nearly 80 percent of potato area in the Indo Gangetic plains. In trials, the clone gave 36.77 tonnes per hectare in the northern plains and 31.96 tonnes per hectare in the central plains at 90 days, on par with the controls Kufri Manik and Kufri Neelkanth. Breeder seed multiplication is now in progress, so wider availability in markets is expected over the next few years.
Kufri Neelkanth and Kufri Manik: Earlier Colourful Varieties
The ICAR-CPRI had earlier released two nutrient rich coloured varieties that paved the way for Kufri Jamunia. Kufri Neelkanth, released in 2018, was the first purple skinned specialty potato from the institute. It forms dark purple black ovoid tubers with shallow to medium eyes, yellow flesh, medium dry matter of about 18 percent and average yield of 35 to 38 tonnes per hectare. The ICAR-CPRI recommends it for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is known for high antioxidants, with about 292 micrograms of carotenoids and higher anthocyanins in whole tuber than white potatoes.
Kufri Manik, released in 2021 and notified in the Gazette on 1 April 2021, forms attractive deep red round tubers with medium eyes and yellow flesh. It is adapted to the eastern plains, including eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam. It yields 23 to 25 tonnes per hectare, matures in 75 to 90 days and carries about 33 parts per million zinc, 30 parts per million iron and about 68 mg of anthocyanins per 100 g. Kufri Manik is moderately resistant to late blight, a fast spreading fungal disease of potato caused by Phytophthora infestans.
The three varieties differ clearly in colour, flesh and nutrition.
| Feature | Kufri Jamunia (2024) | Kufri Neelkanth (2018) | Kufri Manik (2021) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin and flesh | Dark purple skin, purple flesh | Purple skin, yellow flesh | Deep red skin, yellow flesh |
| Tuber shape | Oblong, shallow eyes | Ovoid, shallow eyes | Round, medium eyes |
| Average yield | 32 to 35 tonnes per hectare | 35 to 38 tonnes per hectare | 23 to 25 tonnes per hectare |
| Special strength | Highest Vitamin C, anthocyanins and carotenoids | High antioxidants, good keeper | High zinc, iron and anthocyanins for eastern plains |
For context, widely grown white potatoes like Kufri Jyoti (released in 1968, known for wide adaptability) and Kufri Pukhraj (released in 1998, early bulking and high yield of 35 to 40 tonnes per hectare) give high yields but carry far lower antioxidants. Processing varieties like Kufri Chipsona-1, 2 and 3 were bred separately for chips and French fries with high dry matter and low sugars.
Central Potato Research Institute in Shimla: Mandate and Network
The Central Potato Research Institute is located at Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. It works under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which is the apex body for farm research under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The full form of ICAR-CPRI is Indian Council of Agricultural Research Central Potato Research Institute.
The institute was set up in August 1949 at Patna in Bihar on the advice of Agricultural Advisor Sir Herbert Steward to develop Indian potato varieties. The headquarters moved to Shimla in 1956 to allow crossing work in cool hills and to keep seed potatoes free from virus infection. The ICAR-CPRI came under ICAR in April 1966. It now has seven regional stations at Kufri Fagu, Modipuram, Jalandhar, Gwalior, Patna, Shillong and Ootacamund, covering hills, plains and plateau zones.
The mandate of the institute covers research to raise productivity and quality, conservation of potato genetic resources, transfer of technology and training, production of disease free nucleus and breeder seed, and coordination of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Potato started in 1971. The ICAR-CPRI has developed more than 70 indigenous varieties, starting from Kufri Red and Kufri Safed in 1958 to recent biofortified types. This long breeding effort helped turn potato from a temperate hill crop into a subtropical plains crop grown as a winter rabi crop in the Indo Gangetic plains.
Is Purple Potato the Same as Purple Sweet Potato or Ube?
No, the purple potato is not the same as the purple sweet potato, and it is also not the same as ube. The purple potato Kufri Jamunia belongs to the species Solanum tuberosum, the common potato family. The purple sweet potato belongs to Ipomoea batatas, a different plant family with sweet tasting roots. Ube refers to the purple yam, botanically Dioscorea alata, a vine tuber widely used in the Philippines for desserts.
The confusion arises because all three have purple flesh from anthocyanins. In cooking, purple sweet potato and ube taste distinctly sweet and are used for halwa like desserts and ice cream. Kufri Jamunia tastes like a regular potato with a pleasant flavour and mealy texture, and it is used for curry, paratha, puri, raita, daliya, upma, dosa batter, potato flour, soups, biscuits and bakery products. For buyers, the simple check is the botanical name on the seed packet and the savoury versus sweet taste. Purple potato seeds for planting also mean seed tubers or cut tubers, not true botanical seeds.
Significance for Nutritional Security and the Way Forward
The ICAR-CPRI presents Kufri Jamunia as a major advance because it puts more nutrition into a crop that Indians already eat in large quantities. Potato is cooked almost daily in many homes, so higher Vitamin C, iron and zinc reach consumers without extra cost or change in diet. Dehydrated Kufri Jamunia can be milled into anthocyanin rich daliya, suji and flour for porridge, halwa, upma, roti and cookies, which helps food makers create functional foods for school meals and urban snacks.
Good storage adds to its promise. Kufri Jamunia recorded only 0.27 percent rottage and 6.75 percent total weight loss in station stores, lower than several controls, which helps farmers hold stock after the February to April harvest. The purple colour also gives novelty and better prices in niche urban markets, and export interest exists in neighbouring countries where red skinned potatoes are preferred.
The road ahead depends on seed supply, farmer awareness and consumer demand. The ICAR-CPRI is multiplying breeder seed, while coordinated trials will test performance across seasons. Cooking method matters for retaining nutrients, with boiling and steaming preserving more Vitamin C and anthocyanins than frying or baking. If seed reaches villages at fair prices and buyers recognise the purple potato Indian name Kufri Jamunia aloo, the variety can move from trial plots to regular plates and strengthen nutritional security.
Key Takeaways
- Kufri Jamunia is a purple fleshed biofortified potato released in 2024 with dark purple skin, purple flesh and yield of 32 to 35 tonnes per hectare.
- Kufri Jamunia flesh contains 42.75 mg Vitamin C, 2.28 mg zinc and 3.22 mg iron per 100 g, far higher than common potato.
- Kufri Neelkanth (2018) was the first purple skinned specialty variety, while Kufri Manik (2021) is a red skinned variety with yellow flesh for eastern plains.
- The Central Potato Research Institute is headquartered at Shimla, was founded at Patna in 1949 and shifted to Shimla in 1956.
- Hidden hunger refers to deficiency of vitamins and minerals despite adequate calories, which biofortified staples like Kufri Jamunia help address.
