How the right planting season can boost cassava yields
Every farmer wants high yields from their crop to get more income. But, do farmers know the best planting time if they are to reduce losses and maximize returns? Do they also know what happens when they replant stems from the previous cassava crop year after year?
Answers to the questions above can be found in a paper that was published in the scientific journal Plant Disease which shows “Masika” is the best planting season for cassava farmers and seed producers in coastal Tanzania. Masika is the long rainy season which occurs from March to June. Although some farmers plant cassava in Masika, it’s more common for them to plant during the short “Vuli” rainy season, which runs from October to December. The new research shows that there is a much higher degree of infection by cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) in Vuli than in Masika. This is why yields are lower in Vuli and higher in Masika.
