Detection of early harvest cassava clone through plant height development and starch content in dry land of Lampung

Abstract

Abstract Lampung is one the biggest areas for planting cassava in Indonesia, approximately 119 thousand ha with a productivity of 26 tons/ha. Optimum harvest time for cassava high yield could be 10-12 months after planting (MAP). However, most farmers used to harvest cassava around 7 MAP leading to low yield. This condition needs to introduce early age of harvest cassava to achieve the alternative solution. The objective of this study were to evaluate the growth characteristics of early cassava harvest for high yield. Treatment were arranged by a single factor in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Factors were 12 cassava clones as CMR 51-61-1, CMR 51-48-17, CMR 51-48-16, UJ-3, UJ-5, Vamas, Adira, CMR 51-07-03, OMM 0806-57, CMR 51-06-16, MC 6.10.311, and Litbang UK2. In this study, the variables measured included plant height, root fresh weight, starch content, and starch yield. Result indicated that the Vamas clone had relatively low plant height. At 7 MAP, the Vamas clone showed high starch content compared to the UJ-3 clone. Low plant height and starch content could be used to detect early-harvest cassava clones at harvest of 7 MAP.