Cassava yields set to double?

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Date Issued
1992
Language
en
Type
News Item
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Open Access
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Citation
CTA. 1992. Cassava yields set to double?. Spore 40. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Permanent link to cite or share this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/45802
External link to download this item: http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta40e/
Abstract/Description
Within the next ten years it is possible that cassava yields could double. Improved~varieties that are being grown on farms across Africa yield about 20 tonnes per hectare. New varieties under trial at the International Institute of Tropical...
Notes
Within the next ten years it is possible that cassava yields could double. Improved~varieties that are being grown on farms across Africa yield about 20 tonnes per hectare. New varieties under trial at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria are proving capable of yielding 40 tonnes per hectare. The new varieties are triploid, that is they have three sets of chromosomes; they are the result of crossing diploid varieties (two sets of chromosomes) with tetraploids (4 sets of chromosomes). The resultant triploids are more vigorous and are taller than the tetraploids. Their leaves are much bigger and broader, so they cover the ground much faster and are therefore more effective in shading out weeds. As the triploid cassava is higher yielding it may be possible for farmers to release land for growing other crops. However, past experience has shown that it takes about 10 years for improved varieties to become widely crown. It may be a decade before the triploid varieties have any real impact on production. IITA PMB 5340 Ibadan, NIGERIA
Subjects
CROPS;
Organizations Affiliated to the Authors
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
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