Improved Technology for seed yam Production

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

Authors

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

Date

1989

Language

Type

News Item

Accessibility

Open Access

Metadata

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Citation

CTA. 1989. Improved Technology for seed yam Production. Spore 20. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Permanent link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/45049

Internet URL: http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta20e/

Abstract/Description

Improved Technology for Seed Yam Production, J.A. Otoo, D.S.O. Osiru, S.Y. Ng, and S.K. Hahn, 1987 ISBN 978-131-024-3 Available from: The Director, Root, Tuber and Plantain Improvement Programme IITA-PMB 5300 Ibadan- NlGERIA

Notes

Yams (Dioscorea) are important food crops in West Africa, the Caribbean and the pacific region. The white yam (D rotunda) originated in West Africa and is a highly-relished staple food in the region. Its importance is unrivalled there by any other crop. A major constraint on its increasing production is the cost and lack of availability of planting materials of sufficient quality (the so-called <<seed yams>>. Traditionally, it is considered that about 2.5 tonnes of yams are required to plant one hectare of land, and the cost of this amount of seed yam consitutes 20-30% of the total cost of yam production. Farmers usually retain more than a quarter of their total yam harvest for use as planting setts. IITA (the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) at Ibadan, Nigeria, and the Nigerian National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) at Umudike, have jointly developed <<minisett>> and <<microsett>> techniques for rapid and low-cost production of seed yams to overcome the problem of the scarcity of planting material. These techniques are described in a booklet published by IITA in separate English and French editions. The different states of production are illustrated with 23 colour photographs The booklet is destined for extension personnel and literate farmers. Improved Technology for Seed Yam Production, J.A. Otoo, D.S.O. Osiru, S.Y. Ng, and S.K. Hahn, 1987 ISBN 978-131-024-3 Available from: The Director, Root, Tuber and Plantain Improvement Programme IITA-PMB 5300 Ibadan- NlGERIA