Agronomic Practices Involved In Cassava Farming

Cassava is one of the most important crops in the world; it is widely cultivated in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Cassava has lots of benefits, industrially and economically. Products made from cassava are enormous; cassava is now used to make flour for bread production and other fast foods, and household food items like cassava like flakes, pasta, etc. In addition, cassava has great industrial benefits; it is used in making ethanol, starch, cassava chips, and other industrial products. Cassava is indeed a valuable crop with a large return.

Cassava production is not technical; it is a capital-intensive investment that requires little of your time, all you need is to plant and let nature do the nurturing for you. Unlike other crops, cassava is a hardy crop that tolerates virtually all types of soil and climatic conditions but is commonly grown in the tropics; it can withstand drought for a short period, especially at the latter stage of the cultivation.

Agronomic Practices of Cassava Production

Cassava is an annual crop that matures within 9-10 months with reasonable yield provided the planting conditions are favorable. There are different varieties of cassava; each having different maturity periods, starch content, and flesh color. great thanks to cassava breeders.

To make a cassava farm successful, there are several agronomic practices a farmer must adopt. These practices enhance the soil conditions and provide a favorable condition for the growth and development of the cassava plant from the point of planting to harvesting, thus, bringing about a high yield. They are stepwise foundations that remain supportive from the stage of planting until harvesting; their benefits are unfathomable. These practices are:

• Site selection
• Land preparation
• Selection of cassava stems
• Planting
• Pest control
• Harvesting
• Storage

Site Selection: Choice of soil for cassava farming

Cassava production fails because the choice of land to cultivate is not right for it. Though cassava is a hardy crop that can thrive on most soil, a farmer must not capitalize on this theory because anything worth doing at all is worth doing fine. You should look for the most suitable land for cassava before planting.

All crops have a preference for a particular soil type; Cassava requires a sandy loam soil rich in organic matter; this soil is a well-drained soil that does not allow the waterlogging situation, it allows free flow of water and air. The presence of organic matter in the soil helps to build the soil structure to enable it to retain moisture, mobilize nutrients, and allow the free flow of air within its pores. The soil for planting cassava must be rich in slow-release fertilizers that can sustain the cassava plant throughout the growth stages.

During the site inspection, you should take samples of the soil for suitability tests in the laboratory; this test entails the determination of the soil type, quantity of nutrients present in the soil, the soil pH test, and other associated tests. The soil type is the most important of these tests because it forms the basis for other tests. It has been a sandy loam soil is the best for planting cassava; the soil can be determined in two ways:

• Qualitative analysis: This is the use of the physical properties of the soil to determine the nature of the soil. This can be done on the field by simply collecting a small soil sample using a soil sampling probe, moist it, and try to make it form a ball by rubbing it between your palms. If it forms a ball, try to make it form a ribbon; if the ribbon is about 2 – 2.5cm long before breaking, then, the soil is a loamy soil. It is a sandy loam soil if it feels gritty or coarse. This is just a simple soil test you can use to know the nature of your soil; it takes less than 1 minute and it can be done anywhere.

• Quantitative analysis: This is a detailed analysis of the soil type; it is commonly done in the laboratory. From it, you know the soil type, soil pH, and nutrient composition of the soil. It is expensive but reliable. It is usually recommended for every crop production process as it gives the farmer what to expect and how best to deal with the situation as it emerges.

Selection of Cassava Stem Cuttings

There are different cassava varieties with individual characteristics. As a matter of fact, the purpose of cassava production is what determines the variety of cassava to be planted. If you are planting cassava for the production of ethanol, the variety of cassava you would plant is different from that of the farmer who wants to make starch or cassava flakes.

Select a cassava cultivar that suits your production goals. cassava cultivars have been improved to induce some productive features like early maturity, resistance to diseases and pests, easy peeling, high-yielding roots, delayed root decaying, fortification with beneficial minerals like the pro-vitamin A cassava varieties, TMS 01-1368, TMS 05-1636, and TMS 05-0473; these varieties have yellow roots. Other improved cassava variety stem cuttings are TMS 419, TMS 30572, and TMS 92/0326; These improvements aim to increase productivity and solve nagging problems facing cassava farmers like pest and disease attacks.

Land Preparation for Planting Cassava

Land preparation is a very crucial cultural practice in cassava planting; there are different types of land preparation methods but the most beneficial and highly recommended for cassava planting is the conventional land preparation method; this involves the use of a plow and a harrow on the land before planting is done; these two implements are used to prepare the soil to enhance nutrient mobilization, good root development, and mitigation of weeds and pest emergence.

The plow is used to pulverize or turn and mix the soil; by doing this, it exposes the lower region of the soil subjecting pests to unfavorable conditions, thus, reducing their population greatly or eradicating them. The harrow is used to smoothen the land and make it free from weeds and other contaminants, thus, making it suitable for planting. This is done two weeks after the plowing operation has been carried out. These two operations help greatly as they soften the soil to ensure good root and tuber formation of the cassava plant.

Land preparation for cassava takes about 3 weeks before planting the cassava. Proper land preparation has a lot of benefits to the growth of cassava; it helps to control weeds and increase soil fertility. A conventional land preparation method has to be adopted to enhance good cassava plant yield.

Planting of Cassava Plants

Cassava is planted using stem cuttings and not seeds. If you are hearing this for the first time, I am glad you just learnt a valuable lesson. Cassava exhibits asexual reproduction, meaning, it can be planted with its own parts. The part of cassava that is used for planting is the stem. Other plants use the leaves, and root cuttings. The stem of a cassava plant is divided into three parts, the pseudostem (upper part), semi-hardwood (middle part), and the hardwood (root zone). The pseudostem is usually harvested, and cut to about 30 – 45 cm long.

Just to make things clear, cassava has seeds and the seeds can be used for planting. However, the cassava stem is preferred to the seeds because cassava seeds take a longer period to germinate as compared to the stems making cassava ready for harvesting at about 9 -10 months. In addition, cassava seeds have a low germination rate.

After the proper land preparation method has been implemented and the improved cassava stems have been purchased, planting sets in. Planting cassava stems requires a cautious approach; stems are planted in a slanting orientation of about 45 Degrees and are not erect. Ensure the cassava stems you want to plant have at least 5 nodes; these nodes are the growing points where new cassava shoot comes out. The stems are slanted into the soil exposing about 3 nodes to initiate growth.

Cassava stems should be planted early in the morning or late in the evening to prevent evapotranspiration. Plant spacing is very important; the space between one plant and the other is the feeding area of the plants; cassava plant requires a spacing of 1m by 1m to ensure a good yield. To eradicate weeds, apply post-emergence herbicide like glyphosate to help kill weed seeds and surviving seeds immediately after planting. This is done to keep the growing cassava plant free from weeds for at least 3 months after which the cassava plants form canopies with their leaves; this suppresses weeds and removes the cost of weeding from the total cost of production.

Cassava Plant Pest and Disease Control

Pests and diseases are common threats to the growth and good yield of cassava plants. The most effective measure to control pests and diseases is to plant disease and pest-resistant cassava cultivars. Another way of controlling cassava plant disease is to remove infected plants from the field immediately after the disease is noticed. Common cassava plant diseases are cassava mosaic virus disease, cassava brown streak virus, Black root, and stem rot. Cassava plant diseases can be treated by spraying agrochemicals like insecticides, fungicides, and, bactericides; depending on the causal organism of the disease.

Pests like giant rats, squirrels, grasscutters, and other vertebrate pests often dig into the roots of the cassava plant and eat up emerging roots. The effects of this action are reduced yield and poor quality of the harvested cassava roots. These pests can be controlled by setting traps, perimeter weeding, and human intervention when needed.

Fertilizer Application For Cassava Plant

Applying fertilizer to cassava plants has been a very good way to increase yield; cassava plants need a slow-release fertilizer like animal manure and compost. These fertilizers are best applied during land preparation; after the first plowing operation, animal manure and compost are added to the land with the aim of incorporating it into the soil during the second plowing and harrowing.

Aside from the slow-release fertilizers, cassava plants also need synthetic fertilizers like the NPK fertilizers that contain Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in different proportions. These fertilizers are specially formulated to supply specific nutrients and control deficiency symptoms in cassava plants. As effective as these fertilizers are, they must be care must be taken when applying them to cassava plants.

Synthetic fertilizers are applied to cassava plants at certain growth stages to serve different purposes. At the vegetative stage of cassava plants, fertilizers that are high in nitrogen like Urea and NPK 15:15:15 are best applied. These fertilizers help develop the cassava root and stem, and better growth of leaves. The activities of cell development and tissue growth are greatly increased.

As the cassava plant grows, the fertilizer requirement also changes with its growth stage. Cassava plant is a tuber; phosphorus and potassium are required for large tuber growth and a high amount of dry matter content. Application of high nitrogenous fertilizers in the later growth stage of the cassava plant will encourage the growth of the vegetative parts like leaves and delay maturity. Synthetic fertilizers are applied using the basal placement method, where a round small channel is made around the plants to input the fertilizers.

Harvesting of Cassava Tubers

Harvesting period is always a gleeful period for farmers; it is the end of the past labor. Harvesting of cassava tubers comes up after about 9 months of planting. Harvesting can be done manually by uprooting the whole plant and separating the tuber from the root or mechanically using a combined harvester; the latter is fast but expensive, and it is only done in a mechanized farming system. Harvesting must be done with caution to prevent bruising the tubers. Bruised cassava tubers attract pests during storage; this can reduce the quality of the cassava.

Storage of Cassava Tubers

Storage helps to increase the shelf life and improve the quality of cassava tubers. At times, freshly harvested cassava tubers have to be stored for some time before delivery to the consumers. Before storing cassava tubers, sorting the tubers is recommended to remove the mechanically damaged tubers from the whole tubers. Doing this helps to reduce spoilage of the entire tuber. Cassava tubers are best stored in pits lined with dry leaves or barns made with local materials for a short period.

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