A COMPREHENSIVE & PRACTICAL GUIDE ON HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING & PROCESSING BUSINESS By: Micheal B. O.
Harvesting is still generally a manual operation, although equipment to facilitate this operation is being considered. The day before harvesting, the plants are topped the stalks are cut off manually 40 to 60 cm above ground or by using a machete or machine and piled at the side of the field. The 40 to 60 cm length of stalk is left as a handle for pulling the tubers from the soil. Material required for the next planting is selected and the rest is burned.
HARVESTING METHODS
In light soils the tubers are slowly drawn from the soil by the stems or with the help of a kind of crowbar, and the tubers are cut off the stock. In heavier soils a hoe may be required to dig up the tubers before the plants are pulled out. It must be noted that once the plants have been topped, the roots must be lifted without delay or they will sprout and the starch content will fall drastically.
Because of the way the tubers grow, cassava is not a crop that readily lends itself to mechanical harvesting. The tubers may spread over 1 m and penetrate the soil 50 to 60 cm deep. If care is not taken when machinery is used during harvesting, the tubers may be damaged and may darken as a result of oxidation. This will lower the value of the flour produced. Mould board ploughs can be used to make hand-harvesting less tedious. Stalks can be successfully cut by means of a mid-mounted mower or a topping machine, and the tubers must be mechanically lifted with a mid-mounted disk tracer.
A modified beet or potato harvester has been suggested for use behind the tractor, with a pulling mechanism instead of the digging shares to raise the tubers by the cut stems left after the topping process. Some types of cassava get fully matured within nine months. Some stays for twelve months before they get matured while some last up to two years before they get fully matured. And this harvesting can be done by uprooting with hand or using other suitable harvesting implements in digging out the tubers.
Nigeria Cassava Farmers can now enjoy high yield cassava harvest: Presently, the average cassava farmer in the country is obtaining only about 12-15 tons per hectare. Whereas smaller countries like Thailand are obtaining over 40-50 tons per hectare.. With high yield cassava stem being distributed to the farmers all across the Country Nigerians farmers are now producing 30 tons per hectare. You can get this high yield cassava stem at IITA Ibadan.
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