CBN-V Video Archives - S6-20
Rapid Cassava Seed Multiplication

Njoloma J. and M.B. Kujapata

Bunda College of Agriculture, P.O Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi
jnoloma@yahoo.com

       Cassava. (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is the main root crop in Malawi. It is a staple food for almost 30% of the population especially those living along the lakeshores of Lake Malawi. There have been a lot of problems hindering cassava farming, some of which are shortage of clean and healthy planting materials. In addition, plating time does not coincide with harvesting period as a result most farmers have limited cuttings during planting time. Cassava is harvested in the dry season and farmers rarely manage to keep enough planting materials. Bunda College has now established a seed bank mainly for multiplication of planting materials for distribution to smallholder farmers through both government and non-governmental institutions. Rapid multiplication through conventional method was used in the establishment of the seed bank. Despite its pros, it also has some limitations such as, it requires large hectarage and suffers persistence of pests and diseases. To overcome these limitations, rapid multiplication could be done using tissue culture techniques. This method will ensure availability of clean cassava planting materials when they are required.

2007© Donald Danforth Plant Science Center All rights reserved.