HOW TO MAKE WEALTH IN CASSAVA FARMING BUSINESS HOW TO MAKE WEALTH IN CASSAVA FARMING BUSINESS | Page 28

A COMPREHENSIVE & PRACTICAL GUIDE ON HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING & PROCESSING BUSINESS By: Micheal B. O. infested or diseased stem cuttings. By planting healthy stem cuttings, you can greatly reduce the spread and damage caused by these cassava pests and diseases. The following guidelines will assist you to avoid unhealthy stem cuttings and to select healthy planting material for a healthy crop of cassava. 1. Look for healthy cassava plants: Select healthy cassava plants in the farm. Healthy cassava plants have robust stems and branches, lush foliage, and minimal stem and leaf damage by pests and diseases. From each plant select the middle brown-skinned portions of stems as stem cuttings. These parts sprout and ensure plant vigor better than the top green stem portions. Stem cuttings taken from the top green portions of stems or extreme top and bottom of stored stems are unsuitable. They will dehydrate quickly, produce unhealthy sprouts, and are easily damaged by pests and diseases. 2. Avoid plants with pests and diseases: In selecting cassava plants as sources of stem cuttings, you should avoid those infected with these pests and diseases. The common stemborne cassava pests and diseases are cassava mealybug, cassava green mite, spiraling whitefly, white scale insect, cassava mosaic disease, cassava bacterial blight, cassava anthracnose disease, and cassava bud necrosis. 3. The cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti,: It occurs on cassava leaves, shoot tips, petioles, and stems. The mealybugs are covered with white waxy secretions. Cassava mealybug damage symptoms include shortened internode lengths, compression of terminal leaves together into “bunchy tops”, distortion of stem portions, defoliation, and “candlestick” appearance of shoot tip. The insects survive on cassava stems and leaves and are easily carried to new fields in this way. 4. The cassava green mite, Mononychellustanajoa, It occurs on the undersurfaces of young leaves, green stems, and axilliary buds of cassava. The mites appear as yellowish green specks to the naked eye. Mites survive on cassava stems and leaves and are easily carried to new fields in this way. Cassava green mite damage symptoms include yellow chlorotic leaf spots (like pin pricks) on the upper leaf surfaces, narrowed and smaller leaves, “candlestick” appearance of the shoot tip, and stunted cassava plants. 5. The spiraling whitefly, Aleurodicus dispersus: It damages cassava by sucking sap from the leaves. Colonies of the insect occur on the undersurfaces of cassava leaves and are covered with white waxy secretions similar to those of the cassava mealybug. Spiraling whitefly eggs occur in spiral patterns of wax tracks, mostly on the undersurfaces of leaves. Symptoms of whitefly damage are black sooty mold on the upper leaf surfaces, petioles, and stems, and premature leaf fall of older leaves. The insects survive on cassava leaves and stems and are easily carried to new fields in this way. Hotlines: 09090040011, 09031617999. 28. E-mail: [email protected]