How to Cultivate and Harvest Cassava

         Since 2003, cassava has moved from being a traditional crop to a commercial crop. In this article Agricultural Gist wants to have a closer look t the crop and some of the factors we consider to be very important when it comes to making profit out of cassava production enterprises. The plant-able fresh stake is considered to be in the “seed”. Traditionally, farmers collect or buy planting materials from any source just to fill their cassava fields during the peak of the panting season. This practice is no longer suitable given the present status of cassava production in international level. A
major step towards sustaining cassava production in the state must involve practices that will reduce the cost of production so that the farmers can make profit or at least break even. To this effect we will discuss stem management related issues and field establishment practices as a way of tackling the common mistakes in cassava production.

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•    WHICH VARIETY TO PLANT
Select according to end use; garri, fufu, flour, ethanol, etc. The suitability of a particular variety is influenced by the following;
1.    Dry matter content and food quality (DM>30%)
2.    Mealiness or cooking ability (sweet or bitter)
3.    Ability to bulk early
4.    Good ground storability
5.    Tolerant to weeds, pests and diseases
6.    Soil type (consider stability)
Examples are TMS98/0505, TME419, TMS98/0002, TMS98/0581, nr 8082, UMUCASS36 and 37 (yellow root cassava) that contains vitamin A etc.

•    SOURCING GOOD STEMS FOR PLANTING
You have to select stems carefully. Spindled-shaped or tiny shape or premature stems are not good when you are planting for good root yields. Select healthy stems for planting, from the mother plant.

•    SIZE OF STAKE
The stake should be 20cm – 25cm long, 75g – 88g, with 5-7 modes. The stem should be at least 7-8 months of age as at the time it was severed from the mother plant.

•    CUTTING OF STAKES (PLANTABLE CUTTINGS)
Use cutlass, machete or secateurs or other sharp tools to do the cutting. You should aim at having sharp and smooth cut age.
STORAGE OF THE STEMS
The day of cutting stems and the day of planting stakes from it should be as close as possible. This is important for high vigour/sprouting and emergence. When logistic difficulties call for occasional storage of stem after cutting, the long stems are the ones you should store.


•    MINIMIZE THE VARIATION AMONG STAKES
The variation in the different characteristics among the stakes planted is reflected by the yield of each plant at harvest. For example, yield is related to age of plant from which the cutting was taken, rank, type of stem, length of stakes number of intact, pit-diameter ratio of stake, days after cutting the stem, etc.
•    STEM REQUIREMENT
You require 55-60 bundles of cassava stem to plant one hectare. Each bundle contains 50 stems, each 1m long.

•    TREATMENT OF STAKES
Treat stakes by dipping them into appropriate fungicide/insecticide solution. For example;
1)    Tecto60 –10g/20 liters of water
2)    Basudin – 10ml/20 litres of water
You may also use neem leaf powder at 1kg/5 litres of water. Neem tree is a medicinal plant.


•    LAND PREPARATION
Ensure you plant in well pulverized, weed-free seedbed. Apart from ploughing, harrowing and ridging, you may have o apply a systematic herbicide to take care of weed like carpet grass and guinea grass.

•    PLANTING
Early in the season March to May
Plant stakes in slanting form (at about angle of 450), with 2/3 stakes buried in the seed already prepared (i.e. ridge/mound/flat).
You may also plant/place the stake horizontally to the soil surface. This will give rise to multiple stems and roots.

•    SPACING AND PLANT POPULATION
SPACING                               POPULATION
1m × 1m                                 10,000 pts/ha
1m × 0.8m                              12,500 pts/ha
1m × 1m @ 2 stakes/hill        20,000 pts/ha
Note:
1)    Plant in rows or lines for ease of operations like weeding and fertilizer application etc.
2)    Avoid turning the stakes upside-down
3)    Plant early in the season, March - May.

•    WEEDING
Weed the farm at 4-7 weeks after planting. The second weeding is at 12 weeks after planting.

•    HERBICIDE WEED CONTROL
The cost of manual/hoe weeding gives rise to about 30 – 40% of total cost of production in many locations. It is therefore of great importance to advise farmers in the state to adopt the use of herbicides. This will to a great extent contribute to the reduction in the cost of production. The farmers can apply pre-emergence herbicides like primetra Gold, Cotoran, Atrazin etc and later apply post emergence contact herbicides like Gramoxone to control weed under growths. An important axiom here is to keep field weed free within the first 90 days.

•    FERTILIZER AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION
Depending on availability, the following grades can be used.
NPK 12:12:17 2MgO
NPK 15:15:15
NPK20:10:10
NPK26:13:13
In addition to application of mineral fertilizers, you can apply Agricultural lime in areas you have soils that are acidic. You can also apply organic manure where it is available. Apply fertilizer immediately after first weeding i.e. 4 – 7 weeks after planting. Apply 8 bags of NPK type of fertilizer or its equivalent per hectare.

•    METHODS OF FERTILIZER APPLICATION
Ring, band, broadcasting (at land preparation)
HARVESTING
Harvesting the early maturing types 10- 12 months after planting. The late maturing type should be harvested later.

•    PROCESSING AND UTILIZATION
Cassava however has a wide range of processing possibilities. The issue of toxicity in cassava roots and its leaves can effectively be eliminated by appropriate and efficient processing method. Processing in is broad sense could be regarded as the transformation of a product through series of techniques, aimed enhancing quality, reducing the risk in consumption, minimizing losses as well as facilitating storage, prolonging the self life and enhancing distribution. Harvested cassava begins to deteriorate about 48 hours after harvesting. Cassava can be process into;
i) Odourless fufu; by retting-peeled roots are submerged in water in a container for about 3 – 4 days until they are soft (ii) High quality cassava flour (iii) Garri.
Other uses of cassava products are; livestock feed, sweeteners, confectioneries, glues, paper, textiles, plywood, pharmaceutical product etc.

•    INTERCROPPING CASSAVA/MAIZE/MELON
Here cassava is the main crop while maize, and melon or other crops are supplement. Cassava is planted on the crest of ridges while maize is planted on the base of ridges/mounds made. Melon is planted on the side of the ridges/mounds. All techniques and operations carried out in cassava production are applied.
It is my sincere belief that if adequate measures are taken to handle the aforementioned factors, regarded here as common mistakes, farmers will have cause to smile during their subsequent harvest.

                                           
For More Info Call/Whatsapp Mr Ekex @ +2347039482540 or Email @ ekexgroup@gmail.com