Rooting performance of cassava cuttings due to the number of nodes and rooting media

Abstract Cassava is a major food security crop in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Stem cutting is the major propagation technique in commercial cassava production, despite its limitations in bulkiness and high cost. Research is lacking in optimizing the number of nodes for the most economical use of the planting material. It can be hypothesized that one or two node cuttings can be used in proper rooting media. Hence, a study was conducted to determine the appropriate number of nodes on selected rooting media for better rooting and shoot growth of cassava. A factorial combination of four number nodes (one, two, three, and standard, or 4–6 nodes) and four types of rooting media (sawdust, cocopeat, topsoil, and sand) was used in a completely randomized design with three replications. Nursery and field establishment data were collected. The result revealed that the interaction between the number of nodes and the media significantly (p < 0.05) affected all fresh and dry weights of root and shoot. Sawdust and cocopeat performed best in terms of root number, root length, leaf number, branch number, shoot length, and rooting percentage. Root fresh weight, root dry weight, shoot fresh weight, and shoot dry weight were higher when stem cuttings were planted using two or more nodes on cocopeat or sawdust as compared to planting them on topsoil or sand. The use of two or more nodes on cuttings using cocopeat or sawdust found outstanding results for rooting. However, the standard cutting was better for survival percentage during field establishment. The result confirmed that two nodes of cassava stem cutting are enough for the successful rooting of cassava, and sawdust promotes the rooting of cuttings. Hence, we recommend sawdust as a rooting medium and two or more nodes of stem cuttings of cassava.