Comparative Growth of Elephant Ear Taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza) and Giant Swamp Taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii) in Hawai‘i

Alocasia macrorrhiza and Cyrtosperma merkusii are root crops in the family Araceae that have the potential to be grown as fodder plants in Hawai‘i. This research focused on growing C. merkusii and two varieties (Laufola and Faitama) of A. macrorrhiza to evaluate their growth and yield. A randomized complete block design was used to set up two growth trials in 2018 and 2019. Varieties were grown in pots in the first trial and directly on the ground in the second trial. Plant growth was measured weekly by the plant height and leaf area of the main plants. The weights of the leaf blades, petioles, and stems were taken as the yield. Lateral plants and their weights were also measured. The yield data at harvest were statistically analyzed with a one-way ANOVA in PROC GLM, and means were separated using a Post-hoc test, Least Significant Difference, at 5%. The influence of plant height, leaf area, number of leaves produced by main plants, number of lateral plants, and their total weight on yield were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The growth and yield of plants in the second trial were generally superior to those in the first trial, in which the Laufola variety had the highest growth increase in height and leaf area, followed by Faitama. Those varieties of A. macrorrhiza also had the highest yields. The Laufola variety had the greatest average yield, in kg/ha estimates of the stem (54,896 kg/ha), petiole (99,647 kg/ha), and leaf blades (25,563 kg/ha). Plant height, leaf area, and the number of leaves produced by the main plants had a strong positive influence on the yields. Laufola and Faitama varieties have better potential to be grown in Hilo, Hawai‘i.