Good Agricultural Practices: Cassava

Tractor spraying crops. Good Agricultural Practices: Cassava.

CASSAVA PRODUCTION. Pre-production Production Post –production PRE-PRODUCTION Site selection and Land preparation Sourcing of planting materials and planting Sources of improved cassava varieties PRODUCTION Planting Weed management Fertilizer application Pest and diseases POST-PRODUCTION Harvesting and Records.

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PRE-PRODUCTION. Site selection and Land preparation Cassava can grow on a wide range of soils, but is best adapted to well-drained, light-textured, deep soils of intermediate fertility. It does not tolerate extremely stony, sandy, clayey, salt affected, waterlogged and shallow soils. However, it is very tolerant to different weather conditions. Land preparation depends on the type of vegetation on the farm site. It is very important to follow recommended land preparation steps to ensure that weed/insects pests are controlled effectively throughout the production period for optimum yield..

PRE-PRODUCTION. STEPS TO FOLLOW If the vegetation is an older fallow with trees, shrubs, and broadleaves; and too tall to go over with a sprayer, slash the vegetation and plough. If the vegetation is a grass fallow with perennial weeds such as Spear grass, Guinea Grass, Siam Weeds, Sensitive Plant, or Giant Potato, and too tall to go over with a sprayer, slash the vegetation and wait for two weeks to allow re-growth Apply glyphosate (for example, RoundUp Turbo, To uchDown Forte, Sarosate) at label rate to deal with the grass re-growing from the slashed grass fallow. ( calibrate your sprayer before spraying).

PRE-PRODUCTION. STEPS TO FOLLOW (cont’d) An alternative to slashing and waiting for two weeks before applying glyphosate is to flatten the tall grasses using a big log of wood and spraying immediately. After two weeks, plough and make ridges in preparation for planting. Glyphosate should also be applied on a field if it has little vegetation (less than 1 meter tall) with perennial weeds. Thereafter, wait for 14 days to allow total kill by glyphosate. 3.Ploughing generally increases root yield by at least 5 tons per hectare. Only invest in ploughing if the revenue expected from 5 tons of cassava exceeds the cost of ploughing 1 hectare of land. Ridging increases root yield by at least 4 tons per hectare. Ridge your field if the revenue from 4 tons of cassava exceeds the cost of ridging one hectare of land. Ridging is also recommended if your soil is high in clay content, or if you intend to harvest in the dry season, or if weeds are difficult to control . Photo credit : Zero Hunger Project 2021 demo farm@ Ashina land development area, Gwer East LGA, Benue state.

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PRODUCTION. Weed control and management When weeds cover 30 percent of your field and they are at 4 – 6 leaf stage, apply a post-emergence weed control (for example, post emergence herbicides, mechanical or manual weeding). If cassava is less than 8 weeks after planting , and the field is infested with grass and broadleaf weeds, do manual weeding. If more than 8 weeks after planting, in grass-dominated fields or in portions of a field that are grass dominated, apply Fusilade forte at 3L/ha under cassava canopy. If it is a combination of broad leaves and grasses – infested fields, glufosinate ammonium (Lifeline, Basta, Fascinate) may be applied at label rate as post-emergence herbicides. Glyphosate ( RoundUp Turbo, TouchDown Forte, Sarosate, etc) can also be carefully applied at label rate, but it is important to use a shield (spray guard) on the sprayer nozzle to avoid glyphosate touching green parts of cassava, which will result in cassava damage. Repeat this process as appropriate until the cassava forms a canopy Do not apply the same herbicides year in year out, because this may promote the development of resistant weeds. Photo credit : Zero Hunger Project 2021 demo farm@ Ashina , Gwer East LGA, Benue state.

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Pests and Diseases. Common diseases. African Cassava Mosaic Disease Cassava brown streak disease Anthracnose Brown leaf spot Fusarium root rot Cassava bacterial blight.

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