Year: 2022 | Month: June | Volume 15 | Issue 2

Bulking Rate of Pro-Vitamin A Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Genotypes and the Effect of Locations on Root Yield Parameters at Southern Guinea Savannah and Forest Transition Agroecological Zone of Nigeria

Olusegun. David Badewa1 2* Eli Kolo Tsado2 Andrew Saba Gana2 Kehinde Dele Tolorunse2 Richardson U Okechukwu3 Peter Iluebbey1 and Sadeeq Ibrahim1
DOI:10.30954/0974-1712.02.2022.14

Abstract:

Human population is increasing at an alarming rate, so also the need for food production which necessitates clearing up new lands for cultivation. For most farmers, because of the existing land tenure system, manage to cultivate their existing farmlands most times in mixed cropping. Cassava farmers engage in piecemeal harvesting ultimately to make room for cultivation of other crop but the underlying reasons for doing this is as a result of longer time it takes for Cassava roots to achieve marketable root size and the problem of bush fires that affect their farms during the long stay of the crop on the farm in a bit to attain maturity. Hence, the need to provide farmers with cassava genotypes that bulks early so that they can be sure of reasonable marketable root sizes before the usual maturing time. This study evaluated cassava genotypes at different harvesting months of 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after planting (MAP) to evaluate their bulking rate at different agroecology of Mokwa and Ubiaja. Data were collected on Fresh Storage Root Yield (FSRY), Harvest Index (HI), and Dry Matter (DM) content. This study show that location was not significant on the fresh root yield and fresh root yield either decreases or increases after 3 months after planting (MAP) until 12MAP where it had the highest size. The genotypes with highest root yield across the months (IKN120036 and IBA090581) showed discontinuity in their root yield during their growth stage and the onset of rainfall reduces dry matter accumulation. Genotypes IBA090525, IBA070593, IBA141092, IKN120016 and IKN120036 maintained higher root yield at 6MAP when there was no rainfall than at 9MAP when there was rainfall. Root yield generally reduces at the onset of rainfall with corresponding reduction in dry matter. There was variability among the genotypes for yield related traits as fresh storage root yield (FSRY), harvest index (HI), and dry matter (DM) were significant at P<0.001, P<0.001 and P<0.01 respectively and MAP was significant for FSRY and DM. Early bulking may not necessarily be high yielding as shown in the study but may be exploited via selection and breeding for higher yields and this is because cassava genotypes vary in terms of dry matter accumulation at different months with environment (location) and dry matter accumulation reduced at 9MAP during the onset of rainfall while rainfall was higher in Ubiaja with higher root yield.

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