THE JlCAMA YAM BEAN
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pachyrhizus erosus
FAMILY: Leguminosae
David Chandlee brought along some seeds of the yam bean and they aroused so much interest that he has provided the following notes.
JICAMA, Pachyrhizus erosus, Leguminosae.
Other names: Yam bean, Bunga Sankalu, Sengkuang, Sinkamas, Yaka.
Plant: A sprawling vine to 6 metres long, with a large, fleshy, tuberous root to 30 cm across.
Seed: Yellow, brown or red bean 1 cm across. Do not eat them: they are poisonous, as they contain rotenone.
Soil and Preparation: A well-dug loose, friable soil in ridges or built-up beds. Manure heavily and increase phosphorous levels.
Planting and husbandry: Plant normally at the beginning of the wet season. Development will be slower at other times. In cooler areas, plant in summer. Provision of tripod or trellises for support will increase yields but is not necessary. Keep plant weeded and mulched, irrigating heavily if weather is dry. Remove flowers when they appear and cut back plant to stimulate root growth.
Spacing: 15-30 cm each way. How big roots do you want?
Maturity: 3 - 8 months, depending on temperature and day length. To save seeds, a further few months is required.
Harvest: Dig roots when 10 - 15 cm across, as needed. Larger, older roots are inferior. In Mexico, Jicamas are 'field-stored', water being withheld to stop growth. Just prior to digging, they are irrigated to redress shrinkage and marketed as usual.
Yield: Unknown but possibly heavy.
Eat Jicama raw in salads, chopped or grated, or cook as a vegetable. They're great!
DATE: September 1980
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