Cassava

{{short description|Staple crop}} {{Redirect|Yuca|the flowering shrubs|Yucca}} {{good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}} {{speciesbox |name=Cassava |image=Manihot_esculenta_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-090.jpg |image_alt=Botanical illustration of plant leaves and flowers |image2=Manihot esculenta 001.jpg |image2_caption=Storage root (waxed) |image2_alt=Photograph of oblong brown tuberous root, waxed |genus=Manihot |species=esculenta |authority=Crantz<ref name="POWO 2022">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:351790-1#synonyms |title=''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz, Rei Herb. 1: 167 (1766) |date=2022 |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=11 November 2022 |archive-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111131249/https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:351790-1#synonyms |url-status=live }}</ref> |synonyms= * ''Janipha aipi'' (Pohl) J.Presl * ''Janipha manihot'' (L.) Kunth * ''Jatropha aipi'' (Pohl) Göpp. * ''Jatropha diffusa'' (Pohl) Steud. * ''Jatropha digitiformis'' (Pohl) Steud. * ''Jatropha dulcis'' J.F.Gmel. * ''Jatropha flabellifolia'' (Pohl) Steud. * ''Jatropha loureiroi'' (Pohl) Steud. * ''Jatropha manihot'' L. * ''Jatropha mitis'' Rottb. * ''Jatropha paniculata'' Ruiz & Pav. ex Pax * ''Jatropha silvestris'' Vell. * ''Jatropha stipulata'' Vell. * ''Mandioca aipi'' (Pohl) Link * ''Mandioca dulcis'' (J.F.Gmel.) D.Parodi * ''Mandioca utilissima'' (Pohl) Link * ''Manihot aipi'' Pohl * ''Manihot aypi'' Spruce * ''Manihot cannabina'' Sweet * ''Manihot diffusa'' Pohl * ''Manihot digitiformis'' Pohl * ''Manihot dulcis'' (J.F.Gmel.) Baill. * ''Manihot edule'' A.Rich. * ''Manihot edulis'' A.Rich. * ''Manihot flabellifolia'' Pohl * ''Manihot flexuosa'' Pax & K.Hoffm. * ''Manihot loureiroi'' Pohl * ''Manihot melanobasis'' Müll. Arg. * ''Manihot sprucei'' Pax * ''Manihot utilissima'' Pohl |synonyms_ref=<ref name="POWO 2022"/> }}

'''''Manihot esculenta''''', commonly called '''cassava''', '''manioc''', or '''yuca''' (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are processed to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian {{lang|pt-BR|farofa}}, and the related ''garri'' of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying and roasting it.

Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates in food in the tropics, after rice and maize, making it an important staple; more than 500 million people depend on it. It offers the advantage of being exceptionally drought-tolerant, and able to grow productively on poor soil. The largest producer is Nigeria, while Thailand is the largest exporter of cassava starch.

Cassava is grown in sweet and bitter varieties; both contain toxins, but the bitter varieties have them in much larger amounts. Cassava has to be prepared carefully for consumption, as improperly prepared material can contain sufficient cyanide to cause poisoning. The more toxic varieties of cassava have been used in some places as famine food during times of food insecurity. Farmers may also choose bitter cultivars to minimise crop losses.

== Etymology ==

The generic name ''Manihot'' and the common name "manioc" both derive from the Guarani (Tupi) name ''mandioca'' or ''manioca'' for the plant.<ref name="Etym Dict manioc"/><ref>{{cite web |title=manioc (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/manioc|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref> The specific name ''esculenta'' is Latin for 'edible'.<ref name="Etym Dict manioc">{{cite web |title=''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz |publisher=Singapore National Parks |url=https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/2/2/2210 |access-date=7 July 2024 |quote=Genus Manihot is from the Tupi-Guarani name "manioca" which means cassava. Species esculenta means edible by humans.}}</ref> The common name "cassava" is a 16th century word from the French or Portuguese ''cassave'', in turn from Taíno ''caçabi''.<ref>{{cite web |title=cassava (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/cassava |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref> The common name "yuca" or "yucca" is most likely also from Taíno, via Spanish ''yuca'' or ''juca''.<ref>{{cite web |title=yucca (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/yucca |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

== Description ==

Cassava is a perennial species that is usually harvested within one year after planting. The harvested part is the storage root, which is long and tapered, with an easily detached rough brown rind. The white or yellowish flesh is firm and even in texture. Commercial cultivars can be {{convert|5|to|10|cm|in|0}} wide at the top, and some {{convert|15|to|30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, with a woody vascular bundle running down the middle. The tuberous roots are largely starch, with small amounts of calcium (16 milligrams per 100 grams), phosphorus (27 mg/100 g), and vitamin C (20.6 mg/100 g).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2907?manu=&fgcd=&ds= |title=Basic Report: 11134, Cassava, raw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712215400/https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2907?manu=&fgcd=&ds=|archive-date=12 July 2017|website=National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 28|date=May 2016|publisher=Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture|access-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> Content of total pro-vitamin A carotenoids has been increased through conventional breeding from a maximum of 10.3 to 24.3 υg/g FW basis <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ceballos|first=Hernan |title=Rapid Cycling Recurrent Selection for Increased Carotenoids Content in Cassava Roots|journal= Crop Science |issue=6|pages=2342–2351 |date=November 1, 2013 |volume=53 |doi= 10.2135/cropsci2013.02.0123 |bibcode=2013CrSci..53.2342C |url=https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2135/cropsci2013.02.0123 |access-date=January 7, 2026|hdl=10568/51431 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Cassava roots contain little protein, whereas the leaves are rich in it,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Latif |first1=Sajid |last2=Müller |first2=Joachim |title=Potential of cassava leaves in human nutrition: a review |journal=Trends in Food Science & Technology |year=2015 |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=147–158 |doi=10.1016/j.tifs.2015.04.006 }}</ref> except for being low in methionine, an essential amino acid.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ravindran |first=Velmerugu |title=Preparation of cassava leaf products and their use as animal feeds |journal=FAO Animal Production and Health Paper |issue=95 |pages=111–125 |year=1992 |url=http://www.fao.org/Ag/AGA/AGAP/FRG/AHPP95/95-111.pdf |access-date=13 August 2010 |archive-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115022720/http://www.fao.org/Ag/AGA/AGAP/FRG/AHPP95/95-111.pdf }}</ref>

Cassava has alternately arranged, palmately lobed leaves each with three to seven lobes. The plant's sap is milky.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/manihot-esculenta/|title=''Manihot esculenta''|website=North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox|publisher=NC State Extension|access-date=6 May 2026}}</ref> Cassava is monoecious, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant, arranged in inflorescences. These develop at the apex of the growing stem; buds can sprout to form new branches below the inflorescence, enabling continued vegetative growth. Farmers prefer a non-branching (erect) plant because it is easier to collect, transport, and store. However, the erect form complicates plant breeding as flowers are scarce or absent; breeders make use of photoperiod extension, pruning, and plant growth regulators to encourage flowering.<ref name="Pineda 2020a">{{cite journal |last=Pineda |first=Marcela |title=Induction of Earlier Flowering in Cassava through Extended Photoperiod |year=2020 |journal=Agronomy |volume=10 |issue=1273 |page=1273 |doi=10.3390/agronomy10091273 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Agron..10.1273P }}</ref><ref name="Pineda 2020b">{{cite journal |last=Pineda |first=Marcela |title=Effect of Pruning Young Branches on Fruit and Seed Set in Cassava |year=2020 |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=11 |issue=1107 |article-number=1107 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2020.01107 |doi-access=free |pmid=32793264 |bibcode=2020FrPS...11.1107P |pmc=7390943 }}</ref><ref name="Hyde 2024">{{cite journal |last=Hyde |first=Peter|title=Development of Methods for Improving Flowering and Seed Set of Diverse Germplasm in Cassava Breeding |year=2024 |volume=13 |issue=382 |journal=Plants |page=382 |doi=10.3390/plants13030382 |doi-access=free |pmid=38337915 |pmc=10857246 |bibcode=2024Plnts..13..382H }}</ref><ref name="Santos 2023">{{cite journal |last=Damasceno Santos |first=Alexandra |title=Flowering induction in cassava using photoperiod extension premature pruning and plant growth regulators |year=2023 |journal=PLOS One |volume=18 |issue=10 |article-number=e0292385 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0292385 |doi-access=free |pmid=37797072 |pmc=10553807 |bibcode=2023PLoSO..1892385S }}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=140> File:Cassava cultivation in Kerala (cropped).jpg|Cassava plant File:Manihot esculenta dsc07325.jpg|Unprocessed tuberous roots File:Manihot esculenta - cross section 2.jpg|Tuberous root in cross-section File:Cassava1 (3945716612).jpg |Leaf File:Cassava2 (3945624614).jpg |Leaf detail File:Manihot esculenta cassava flower vijayanrajapuram.jpg|Flower buds File:Manihot esculenta MHNT.BOT.2004.0.508.jpg |Seeds and opened fruit </gallery>

=== Genome ===

The complete and haplotype-resolved African cassava (TME204) genome has been reconstructed and made available using the Hi-C technology.<ref name="Qi 2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Qi |first1=W. |last2=Lim |first2=Y. |last3=Patrignani |first3=A. |last4=Schläpfer |first4=P. |last5=Bratus-Neuenschwander |first5=A. |last6=Grüter |first6=S. |last7=Chanez |first7=C. |last8=Rodde |first8=N. |last9=Prat |first9=E. |last10=Vautrin |first10=S. |last11=Fustier |first11=M. |last12=Pratas |first12=D. |last13=Schlapbach |first13=R. |last14=Gruissem |first14=W. |display-authors=5 |year=2022 |title=The haplotype-resolved chromosome pairs of a heterozygous diploid African cassava cultivar reveal novel pan-genome and allele-specific transcriptome features |journal=GigaScience |volume=11 |article-number=giac028 |doi=10.1093/gigascience/giac028 |pmid=35333302 |pmc=8952263 }}</ref> The genome shows abundant novel gene loci with enriched functionality related to chromatin organization, meristem development, and cell responses.<ref name="Qi 2022"/> Differentially expressed transcripts of different haplotype origins were enriched for different functionality during tissue development. In each tissue, 20–30% of transcripts showed allele-specific expression differences with <2% of direction-shifting. Despite high gene synteny, the HiFi genome assembly revealed extensive chromosome rearrangements and abundant intra-genomic and inter-genomic divergent sequences, with significant structural variations mostly related to long terminal repeat retrotransposons.<ref name="Qi 2022"/>

Although smallholders are otherwise economically inefficient producers, they are vital to productivity at particular times.<ref name="McGregor 2020" /> Small cassava farmers are no exception.<ref name="McGregor 2020" /> Genetic diversity is vital when productivity has declined due to pests and diseases, and smallholders tend to retain less productive but more diverse gene pools.<ref name="McGregor 2020">{{cite journal |last1=McGregor |first1=Andrew |last2=Manley |first2=M. |last3=Tubuna |first3=S. |last4=Deo |first4=R. |last5=Bourke |first5=Mike |date=2020 |journal=Pacific Economic Bulletin |title=Pacific Island food security: situation, challenges and opportunities |hdl=1885/39234}}</ref>

The molecular genetics of starchy root development in cassava have been analyzed and compared to other root and tuber crops, including possible (unproven) roles for {{ visible anchor |Flowering Locus T |FT |FT protein |MeFT1 |MeFT2 }} (FT) orthologs.<ref name="Zierer 2021">{{cite journal |year=2021 |issue=1 |volume=72 |pages=551–580 |first2=David |first4=Sophia |first1=Wolfgang |first3=Uwe |last4=Sonnewald |last3=Sonnewald |last2=Rüscher |last1=Zierer |journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology |doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-080720-084456 |title=Tuber and Tuberous Root Development |pmid=33788583 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021AnRPB..72..551Z }}</ref>

== History ==

Wild populations of ''M. esculenta'' subspecies ''flabellifolia'', shown to be the progenitor of domesticated cassava, are centered in west-central Brazil, where it was likely first domesticated no more than 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Olsen |first1=K. M. |last2=Schaal |first2=B. A. |title=Evidence on the origin of cassava: phylogeography of ''Manihot esculenta'' |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=96 |issue=10 |pages=5586–5591 |year=1999 |pmid=10318928 |pmc=21904 |bibcode=1999PNAS...96.5586O |doi=10.1073/pnas.96.10.5586 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Forms of the modern domesticated species can also be found growing in the wild in the south of Brazil. By 4600 BC, cassava pollen appears in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands, at the San Andrés archaeological site.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pope |first1=Kevin O. |last2=Pohl |first2=Mary E. D. |last3=Jones |first3=John G. |last4=Lentz |first4=David L. |last5=von Nagy |first5=Christopher |last6=Vega |first6=Francisco J. |last7=Quitmyer |first7=Irvy R. |title=Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica |journal=Science |volume=292 |issue=5520 |pages=1370–1373 |year=2001 |doi=10.1126/science.292.5520.1370 |pmid=11359011 |bibcode=2001Sci...292.1370P}}</ref> The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a 1,400-year-old Maya site, Joya de Cerén, in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |title=CU team discovers Mayan crop system |newspaper=The Guardian |date=23 August 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/aug/23/1 |access-date=31 July 2019 |archive-date=31 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731171801/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/aug/23/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> It became a staple food of the native populations of northern South America, southern Mesoamerica, and the Taino people in the Caribbean islands, who grew it using a high-yielding form of shifting agriculture by the time of European contact in 1492.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taino: History & Culture |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Taino |access-date=2020-09-24 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |archive-date=2020-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901154607/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Taino |url-status=live}}</ref> Cassava was a staple food of pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas and is often portrayed in indigenous art. The Moche people often depicted cassava in their ceramics.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera.'' New York: Thames & Hudson, 1997.</ref>

Spaniards in their early occupation of Caribbean islands did not want to eat cassava or maize, which they considered insubstantial, dangerous, and not nutritious. They much preferred foods from Spain, specifically wheat bread, olive oil, red wine, and meat, and considered maize and cassava damaging to Europeans.<ref>Earle, Rebecca (2012) ''The Body of the Conquistador: Food, Race, and the Colonial Experience in Spanish America, 1492–1700''. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 54–57, 151. {{ISBN|978-1107693296}}.</ref> The cultivation and consumption of cassava were nonetheless continued in both Portuguese and Spanish America. Mass production of cassava bread became the first Cuban industry established by the Spanish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Long |first=Janet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rn9LZ2XrIWgC&pg=PA75 |title=Conquest and food: consequences of the encounter of two worlds; page 75|publisher=UNAM|date=2003 |isbn=978-970-32-0852-4 |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420125914/https://books.google.com/books?id=Rn9LZ2XrIWgC&pg=PA75 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ships departing to Europe from Cuban ports such as Havana, Santiago, Bayamo, and Baracoa carried goods to Spain, but sailors needed to be provisioned for the voyage. The Spanish also needed to replenish their boats with dried meat, water, fruit, and large amounts of cassava bread.<ref>{{cite web |last=Watkins |first=Thayer |title=The Economic History of Havana, Cuba: A City So Beautiful and Important It Was Once Worth More Than All of Florida |publisher=San José State University, Department of Economics |date=2006 |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/havana.htm |access-date=20 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502042108/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/havana.htm |archive-date=2 May 2016}}</ref> Sailors complained that it caused them digestive problems.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Super |first=John C. |title=Spanish Diet in the Atlantic Crossing|journal=Terrae Incognitae |volume=16 |year=1984 |pages=60–63 |doi=10.1179/008228884791016718}}</ref>

Portuguese traders introduced cassava to Africa from Brazil in the 16th century. Around the same period, it was introduced to Asia through Columbian Exchange by Portuguese and Spanish traders, who planted it in their colonies in Goa, Malacca, Eastern Indonesia, Timor and the Philippines.<ref name="Nweke 2005">{{cite book |last=Nweke |first=Felix I. |chapter=The cassava transformation in Africa |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0154e/A0154E02.HTM |publisher=The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |place=Rome |year=2005 |title=A review of cassava in Africa with country case studies on Nigeria, Ghana, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Benin |series=Proceedings of the Validation Forum on the Global Cassava Development Strategy |volume=2 |access-date=1 January 2011 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211073843/http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0154e/A0154E02.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Cassava has also become an important crop in Asia. While it is a valued food staple in parts of eastern Indonesia, it is primarily cultivated for starch extraction and bio-fuel production in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hershey |first=Clair |display-authors=et al |date=April 2000 |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/y1177e/Y1177E02.htm |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |title=A review of cassava in Asia with country case studies on Thailand and Viet Nam |chapter=Cassava in Asia. Expanding the Competitive Edge in Diversified Markets |place=Rome |access-date=28 January 2018 |archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107231144/http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/y1177e/Y1177E02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Cassava is sometimes described as the "bread of the tropics"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adams |first1=C. |last2=Murrieta |first2=R. |last3=Siqueira |first3=A. |last4=Neves |first4=W. |last5=Sanches |first5=R. |chapter=Bread of the Land: The Invisibility of Manioc in the Amazon |title=Amazon Peasant Societies in a Changing Environment |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9283-1_13 |pages=281–305 |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4020-9282-4 }}</ref> but should not be confused with the tropical and equatorial bread tree ''(Encephalartos)'', the breadfruit ''(Artocarpus altilis)'' or the African breadfruit ''(Treculia africana)''. This description definitely holds in Africa and parts of South America; in Asian countries such as Vietnam fresh cassava barely features in human diets.<ref name="Mota-Guttierez 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Mota-Guttierez |first1=Jatziri |last2=O'Brien |first2=Gerard Michael |date=September 2019 |title=Cassava consumption and the occurrence of cyanide in cassava in Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines |journal=Public Health Nutrition |volume=23 |issue=13 |pages=2410–2423 |doi=10.1017/S136898001900524X |doi-access=free |pmid=32438936 |pmc=11374567 }}</ref> Cassava was introduced to East Africa around 1850 by Arab and European settlers, who promoted its cultivation as a reliable crop to mitigate the effects of drought and famine.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ofcansky |first1=Thomas P. |title=Historical dictionary of Tanzania |last2=Yeager |first2=Rodger |last3=Kurtz |first3=Laura S. |date=1997 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-3244-2 |edition=2nd |series=African historical dictionaries |location=Lanham, Md |page=134}}</ref>

There is a legend that cassava was introduced in 1880–1885 to the South Indian state of Kerala by the King of Travancore, Vishakham Thirunal Maharaja, after a great famine hit the kingdom, as a substitute for rice.<ref name="Saraswathy-2019">{{cite web |last=Nagarajan |first=Saraswathy |url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/how-tapioca-came-to-travancore/article28181288.ece |title=How tapioca came to Travancore |work=The Hindu |date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727082403/https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/how-tapioca-came-to-travancore/article28181288.ece |archive-date=27 July 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, cassava was cultivated in the state before that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ainslie |first1=Whitelaw |last2=Halford |first2=Henry |url=http://archive.org/details/b28037340 |title=Materia medica of Hindoostan, and artisan's and agriculturalist's nomenclature |date=1813 |publisher=Government Press |location=Madras State}}</ref> Cassava is called kappa or maricheeni in Malayalam, and tapioca in Indian English usage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kappa for all seasons - many avatars of the magic starch root... |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/food/features/2018/01/30/kappa-for-all-seasons.html |website=Onmanorama |location=Kerala, India |access-date=11 May 2024 |date=1 February 2018}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Taíno women preparing cassava bread.png|Taíno women preparing cassava bread in 1565: grating tuberous roots into paste, shaping the bread, and cooking it on a fire-heated burén File:Albert_Eckhout_-_Mandioca.jpg|17th-century painting by Albert Eckhout in Dutch Brazil </gallery>

== Cultivation == Cassava is propagated by cutting the stem into sections of approximately {{cvt|15|cm|in}}, these being planted prior to the wet season.<ref name="Howeler 2007">{{cite web |last=Howeler |first=Reinhardt H. |year=2007 |title=Production techniques for sustainable cassava production in Asia |publisher=Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Bangkok |url=http://ciat-library.ciat.cgiar.org/Articulos_Ciat/07169_Production_techniques_cassava.pdf |access-date=3 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005114611/http://ciat-library.ciat.cgiar.org/Articulos_Ciat/07169_Production_techniques_cassava.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> Optimal conditions for cassava cultivation are mean annual temperatures between {{Convert|20 and 29|C|F}}, but it can tolerate temperatures as low as {{convert|12|C|F|0}} and as high as {{convert|40|C|F|0}}.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.eolss.net/ebooklib/bookinfo/soils-plant-growth-crop-production.aspx |title=Soils, Plant Growth and Crop Production Volume II |date=2010 |publisher=EOLSS Publishers |isbn=978-1-84826-368-0 |editor-first=Willy H. |editor-last=Verheye |page=273 |chapter=Tropical Root and Tuber Crops |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511044506/https://www.eolss.net/ebooklib/bookinfo/soils-plant-growth-crop-production.aspx |archive-date=11 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>, optimal annual precipitation is between {{Convert|1000 and 2500|mm|in|abbr=on}}, and an annual growth period of no less than 240 days.<ref name="Del-Rosario-Arellano 2022">{{cite journal |last1=Del-Rosario-Arellano |first1=José Luis |last2=Aguilar-Rivera |first2=Noe |last3=Leyva-Ovalle |first3=Otto Raúl |last4=Andres-Meza |first4=Pablo |last5=Meneses-Marquez |first5=Isaac |last6=Bolio-López |first6=Gloria Ivette |title=Zonificación edafoclimática de la yuca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) para la producción sostenible de bioproductos |language=es |trans-title=Edaphoclimatic zoning of cassava (manihot esculenta crantz) for sustainable production of bioproducts |journal=Revista de geografía Norte Grande |date=2022 |issue=81 |pages=361–383 |doi=10.4067/S0718-34022022000100361 |doi-access=free }}</ref> These conditions are found, among other places, in the northern part of the Gulf Coastal Plain in Mexico.<ref name="Del-Rosario-Arellano 2022"/> In this part of Mexico the following soil types have been shown to be good for cassava cultivation: phaeozem, regosol, arenosol, andosol and luvisol.<ref name="Del-Rosario-Arellano 2022"/>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> thumb|Healthy crop, Indonesia File:Cassava stakes1 (4627297822).jpg|Stakes File:Cassava grafting7 (4425027331).jpg|Grafting </gallery>

=== Harvesting === Before harvest, the leafy stems are removed. The harvest is gathered by pulling up the base of the stem and cutting off the tuberous roots.<ref name="Howeler 2007"/>

=== Handling and storage ===

Cassava deteriorates after harvest, when the tuberous roots are first cut. The healing mechanism produces coumaric acid, which oxidizes and blackens the roots, making them inedible after a few days. This deterioration is related to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species initiated by cyanide release during mechanical harvesting. Cassava shelf life may be increased up to three weeks by overexpressing a cyanide-insensitive alternative oxidase, which suppressed the reactive oxygen species by 10-fold.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zidenga |first1=T. |display-authors=etal |year=2012 |title=Extending cassava root shelf life via reduction of reactive oxygen species production |journal=Plant Physiology |volume=159 |issue=4 |pages=1396–1407 |doi=10.1104/pp.112.200345 |pmc=3425186 |pmid=22711743 |bibcode=2012PlanP.159.1396Z }}</ref> Post-harvest deterioration is a major obstacle to the export of cassava. Fresh cassava can be preserved like potato, using thiabendazole or bleach as a fungicide, then wrapping in plastic, freezing, or applying a wax coating.<ref>{{cite web |title=Storage and processing of roots and tubers in the tropics |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5415e/x5415e04.htm |access-date=4 May 2016 |publisher=U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization |archive-date=22 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422120308/http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5415e/x5415e04.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

While alternative methods for controlling post-harvest deterioration have been proposed, such as preventing reactive oxygen species effects by using plastic bags during storage and transport, coating the roots with wax, or freezing roots, such strategies have proved to be economically or technically impractical, leading to breeding of cassava varieties with improved durability after harvest, achieved by different mechanisms.<ref name="Venturini-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Venturini |first1=M.T. |last2=Santos |first2=L.R. |last3=Vildoso |first3=C. I |last4=Santos |first4=V. S |last5=Oliveira |first5=E.J. |year=2016 |title=Variation in cassava germplasm for tolerance to post-harvest physiological deterioration |journal=Genetics and Molecular Research |volume=15 |issue=2 |doi=10.4238/gmr.15027818 |doi-broken-date=13 May 2026 |pmid=27173317 |url=https://geneticsmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/gmr7818.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Morante-2010">{{cite journal |last1=Morante |first1=N. |last2=Sánchez |first2=T. |last3=Ceballos |first3=H. |last4=Calle |first4=F. |last5=Pérez |first5=J.C. |last6=Egesi |first6=C. |last7=Cuambe |first7=C.E. |last8=Escobar |first8=A.F. |last9=Ortiz |first9=D. |last10=Chávez |first10=A.L. |last11=Fregene |first11=M. |display-authors=3 |year=2010 |title=Tolerance to Postharvest Physiological Deterioration in Cassava Roots |journal=Crop Science|volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=1333–1338 |doi=10.2135/cropsci2009.11.0666 |bibcode=2010CrSci..50.1333M }}</ref> One approach used gamma rays to try to silence a gene involved in triggering deterioration; another strategy selected for plentiful carotenoids, antioxidants which may help to reduce oxidization after harvest.<ref name="Morante-2010" />

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=180> File:NP Cassava Processing 7 (5867707684).jpg|Starch processing File:NP Cassava Starch Processing (5867152719).jpg|Starch flour File:Vietnam cassava processing3 lo (4070319057).jpg|Starch wet-processing File:Secando casabe.JPG|Spreading ''Casabe burrero'' (cassava bread) to dry, Venezuela File:Vietnam cassava processing24lo (4070342389).jpg|Starch being prepared for packaging File:Vietnam cassava cellophane noodles.jpg|Starch noodles packaged for shipping File:Frozen cassava leaves.jpg|Frozen leaves in a Los Angeles market File:Cassava buds (4733912948).jpg|Picked buds </gallery>

== Pests and diseases ==

thumb|An agronomist examines a diseased cassava crop in Thailand.

Cassava is subject to pests from multiple taxonomic groups, including nematodes, and insects, as well as diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. All cause reductions in yield, and some cause serious losses of crops.<ref name="Alvarez 2012"/>

=== Viruses ===

Several viruses cause enough damage to cassava crops to be of economic importance. The African cassava mosaic virus causes the leaves of the cassava plant to wither, limiting the growth of the root.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cassava (manioc) |url=https://www.plantvillage.com/en/topics/cassava-manioc/infos/diseases_and_pests_description_uses_propagation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630145744/https://www.plantvillage.com/en/topics/cassava-manioc/infos/diseases_and_pests_description_uses_propagation |archive-date=30 June 2015 |access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> An outbreak of the virus in Africa in the 1920s led to a major famine.<ref name="NYT 2010">{{cite news |date=31 May 2010 |title=Virus ravages cassava plants in Africa |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/science/01cassava.html |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316113128/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/science/01cassava.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The virus is spread by the whitefly and by the transplanting of diseased plants into new fields. Sometime in the late-1980s, a mutation occurred in Uganda that made the virus even more harmful, causing the complete loss of leaves. This mutated virus spread at a rate of {{convert|50|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=off}} per year, and as of 2005 was found throughout Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.<ref>{{cite web |date=31 August 2005 |title=Hungry African nations balk at biotech cassava |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/225369/hungry_african_nations_balk_at_biotech_cassava/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303183231/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/225369/hungry_african_nations_balk_at_biotech_cassava/ |archive-date=3 March 2012 |access-date=11 August 2008 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref> Viruses are a severe production limitation in the tropics. They are the primary reason for the complete lack of yield increases in the 25 years {{as of|2021|alt=up to 2021}}.<ref name="Afedraru-2019" /> Cassava brown streak virus disease is a major threat to cultivation worldwide.<ref name="NYT 2010" /> Cassava mosaic virus (CMV) is widespread in Africa, causing cassava mosaic disease (CMD).<ref name="Lebot-2020" /> Bredeson et al. 2016 find the ''M. esculenta'' cultivars most widely used on that continent have ''M. carthaginensis'' subsp. ''glaziovii'' genes of which some appear to be CMD resistance genes.<ref name="Lebot-2020">{{cite book |last=Lebot |first=Vincent |title=Tropical Root and Tuber Crops: Cassava, Sweet Potato, Yams And Aroids |publisher=CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International) |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-78924-336-9 |publication-place=Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK; Boston, USA |page=541 |oclc=1110672215}}</ref> Although the ongoing CMD pandemic affects both East and Central Africa, Legg ''et al.'' found that these two areas have two distinct subpopulations of the vector, ''Bemisia tabaci'' whiteflies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Legg |first1=James P. |last2=Lava Kumar |first2=P. |last3=Makeshkumar |first3=T. |last4=Tripathi |first4=Leena |last5=Ferguson |first5=Morag |last6=Kanju |first6=Edward |last7=Ntawuruhunga |first7=Pheneas |last8=Cuellar |first8=Wilmer |title=Control of Plant Virus Diseases - Vegetatively-Propagated Crops |chapter=Cassava Virus Diseases |series=Advances in Virus Research |date=2015 |volume=91 |pages=85–142 |doi=10.1016/bs.aivir.2014.10.001 |pmid=25591878 |isbn=978-0-12-802762-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Legg |first1=James P. |last2=Sseruwagi |first2=Peter |last3=Boniface |first3=Simon |last4=Okao-Okuja |first4=Geoffrey |last5=Shirima |first5=Rudolph |last6=Bigirimana |first6=Simon |last7=Gashaka |first7=Gervais |last8=Herrmann |first8=Hans-Werner |last9=Jeremiah |first9=Simon |last10=Obiero |first10=Hannington |last11=Ndyetabula |first11=Innocent |last12=Tata-Hangy |first12=Willy |last13=Masembe |first13=Charles |last14=Brown |first14=Judith K. |display-authors=3 |title=Spatio-temporal patterns of genetic change amongst populations of cassava Bemisia tabaci whiteflies driving virus pandemics in East and Central Africa |journal=Virus Research |volume=186 |date=2014 |doi=10.1016/j.virusres.2013.11.018 |pages=61–75 |pmid=24291251 }}</ref> Genetically engineered cassava offers opportunities for the improvement of virus resistance, including CMV and CBSD resistance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rey |first1=Chrissie |last2=Vanderschuren |first2=Hervé |title=Cassava Mosaic and Brown Streak Diseases: Current Perspectives and Beyond |issue=1 |volume=4 |year=2017 |pages=429–452 |journal=Annual Review of Virology |pmid=28645239 |doi=10.1146/annurev-virology-101416-041913 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Bacteria ===

Among the most serious bacterial pests is ''Xanthomonas axonopodis'' pv. ''manihotis'', which causes bacterial blight of cassava. This disease originated in South America and has followed cassava around the world.<ref name="Lozano-1986">{{Cite journal |last=Lozano |first=J. Carlos |date=September 1986 |title=Cassava bacterial blight: a manageable disease |url=http://www.apsnet.org/publications/PlantDisease/BackIssues/Documents/1986Articles/PlantDisease70n12_1089.PDF |journal=Plant Disease |volume=70 |issue=12 |pages=1089–1093 |doi=10.1094/PD-70-1089 |bibcode=1986PlDis..70.1089L |hdl=10568/43244 |access-date=14 January 2023 |archive-date=14 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114224139/https://www.apsnet.org/publications/PlantDisease/BackIssues/Documents/1986Articles/PlantDisease70n12_1089.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> Bacterial blight has been responsible for near catastrophic losses and famine in past decades, and its mitigation requires active management practices.<ref name="Lozano-1986" /> Several other bacteria attack cassava, including the related ''Xanthomonas campestris'' pv. ''cassavae'', which causes bacterial angular leaf spot.<ref name="Zárate-Chaves 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Zárate-Chaves |first1=Carlos A. |last2=Gómez de la Cruz |first2=Diana |last3=Verdier |first3=Valérie |last4=López |first4=Camilo E. |last5=Bernal |first5=Adriana |last6=Szurek |first6=Boris |title=Cassava diseases caused by Xanthomonas phaseoli pv. manihotis and Xanthomonas cassavae |journal=Molecular Plant Pathology |volume=22 |issue=12 |date=2021 |pmid=34227737 |pmc=8578842 |doi=10.1111/mpp.13094 |pages=1520–1537 |bibcode=2021MolPP..22.1520Z }}</ref>

=== Fungi and oomycetes ===

{{anchor|Rust of cassava}} Several fungi and oomycetes bring about significant crop losses, one of the most serious being cassava root rot; the pathogens involved are species of ''Phytophthora'', the genus which causes potato blight. Cassava root rot can result in losses of as much as 80 percent of the crop.<ref name="Alvarez 2012">{{cite book |last1=Alvarez |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Llano |first2=Germán Alberto |last3=Mejía |first3=Juan Fernando |chapter=Cassava diseases in Latin America, Africa and Asia |title=The Cassava Handbook |page=258 |year=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/98098352/The_Cassava_Handbook_2011.pdf#page=266 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> A major pest is a rust caused by ''Uromyces manihotis''.<ref name="CABI-ISC-2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/55848 |title=''Uromyces manihotis'' (rust of cassava) |year=2019 |website=Invasive Species Compendium |publisher=CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International) |access-date=27 October 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109225057/https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/55848 |url-status=live}}</ref> Superelongation disease, caused by ''Elsinoë brasiliensis'', can cause losses of over 80 percent of young cassava in Latin America and the Caribbean when temperature and rainfall are high.<ref name="Alvarez 2012"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alleyne |first1=A.T. |last2=Gilkes |first2=J.M. |last3=Briggs |first3=G. |title=Early detection of Super-elongation disease in Manihot esculenta Crantz (cassava) using molecular markers for gibberellic acid biosynthesis |journal=European Journal of Plant Pathology |date=January 2015 |volume=141 |issue=1 |pages=27–34 |doi=10.1007/s10658-014-0517-3 |bibcode=2015EJPP..141...27A }}</ref><ref name="Alleyne-2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Alleyne |first1=Angela |last2=Mason |first2=Shanice |last3=Vallès |first3=Yvonne |date=2023 |title=Characterization of the Cassava Mycobiome in Symptomatic Leaf Tissues Displaying Cassava Superelongation Disease |journal=Journal of Fungi |volume=9 |issue=12 |page=1130 |doi=10.3390/jof9121130 |pmc=10743849 |pmid=38132731 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Insects ===

thumb|upright|Grasshoppers, here on cassava in Nigeria, are secondary pests of cassava.<ref name="Alvarez 2012"/>

Insects such as stem borers and other beetles, moths including ''Chilomima clarkei'', scale insects, fruit flies, shootflies, burrower bugs, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, gall midges, leafcutter ants, and termites contribute to losses of cassava in the field,<ref name="Alvarez 2012"/> while others contribute to serious losses, between 19% and 30%, of dried cassava in storage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Osipitan |first1=A. A. |last2=Sangowusi |first2=V. T. |last3=Lawal |first3=O. I. |last4=Popoola |first4=K. O. |year=2015 |title=Correlation of Chemical Compositions of Cassava Varieties to Their Resistance to ''Prostephanus truncatus'' Horn (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) |journal=Journal of Insect Science|volume=15 |issue=1 |page=13 |doi=10.1093/jisesa/ieu173 |pmc=4535132 |pmid=25700536}}</ref> In Africa, a previous issue was the cassava mealybug (''Phenacoccus manihoti'') and cassava green mite (''Mononychellus tanajoa''). These pests can cause up to 80 percent crop loss, which is extremely detrimental to the production of subsistence farmers. These pests were rampant in the 1970s and 1980s but were brought under control following the establishment of the Biological Control Centre for Africa of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the leadership of Hans Rudolf Herren.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=1995: Herren |url=http://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/19871999_laureates/1995_herren/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711200345/http://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/19871999_laureates/1995_herren/ |archive-date=11 July 2015 |access-date=29 May 2015 |publisher=The World Food Prize Foundation}}</ref> The Centre investigated biological control for cassava pests; two South American natural enemies ''Anagyrus lopezi'' (a parasitoid wasp) and ''Typhlodromalus aripo'' (a predatory mite) were found to effectively control the cassava mealybug and the cassava green mite, respectively.<ref name="auto"/>

=== Nematodes ===

Nematode pests of cassava are thought to cause harms ranging from negligible to seriously damaging,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coyne |first1=D. L. |last2=Talwana |first2=L. A. H. |date=2000 |title=Reaction of cassava cultivars to root-knot nematode (''Meloidogyne'' spp.) in pot experiments and farmer-managed field trials in Uganda |journal=International Journal of Nematology |volume=10 |pages=153–158 |url=https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20013117434 |access-date=22 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Makumbi-Kidza |first1=N. N. |last2=Speijer |first2=P. R. |last3=Sikora |first3=R. A. |date=2000 |title=Effects of ''Meloidogyne incognita'' on growth and storage-root formation of cassava (''Manihot esculenta'') |journal=Journal of Nematology|volume=32 |issue=4S |pages=475–477 |pmc=2620481 |pmid=19270997}}</ref><ref name="Gapasin-1980"/> making the choice of management methods difficult.<ref name="Coyne 1994"/> A wide range of plant parasitic nematodes have been reported associated with cassava worldwide. These include ''Pratylenchus brachyurus'', ''Rotylenchulus reniformis'', ''Helicotylenchus'' spp., ''Scutellonema'' spp. and ''Meloidogyne'' spp., of which ''Meloidogyne incognita'' and ''Meloidogyne javanica'' are the most widely reported and economically important.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McSorley |first1=R. |last2=Ohair |first2=S. K. |last3=Parrado |first3=J. L. |date=1983 |title=Nematodes of Cassava, ''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz |url=http://journals.fcla.edu/nematropica/article/view/63820/61488 |journal=Nematropica |volume=13 |pages=261–287 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603205439/http://journals.fcla.edu/nematropica/article/view/63820/61488 |archive-date=3 June 2016 |access-date=4 May 2016}}</ref> ''Meloidogyne'' spp. feeding produces physically damaging galls with eggs inside them. Galls later merge as the females grow and enlarge, and they interfere with water and nutrient supply.<ref name="Gapasin-1980">{{cite journal |last=Gapasin |first=R. M. |date=1980 |title=Reaction of golden yellow cassava to ''Meloidogyne'' spp. Inoculation |journal=Annals of Tropical Research|volume=2 |pages=49–53}}</ref> Cassava roots become tough with age and restrict the movement of the juveniles and the egg release. It is therefore possible that extensive galling can be observed even at low densities following infection.<ref name="Coyne 1994">{{cite journal |last=Coyne |first=D. L. |date=1994 |title=Nematode pests of cassava |journal=African Crop Science Journal |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=355–359 |url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/acsj/article/view/135776 |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922101847/https://www.ajol.info/index.php/acsj/article/view/135776}}</ref> Other pests and diseases can gain entry through the physical damage caused by gall formation, leading to rots. They have not been shown to cause direct damage to the enlarged tuberous roots, but plant height can be reduced if the root system is reduced.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Caveness |first=F. E. |date=1982 |title=Root-knot nematodes as parasites of cassava |journal=IITA Research Briefs|volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=2–3}}</ref> Nematicides reduce the numbers of galls per feeder root, along with fewer rots in the tuberous roots.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coyne |first1=Daniel L. |last2=Kagoda |first2=Frank |last3=Wambugu |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Ragama |first4=Philip |title=Response of cassava to nematicide application and plant-parasitic nematode infection in East Africa, with emphasis on root knot nematodes |journal=International Journal of Pest Management |date=July 2006 |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=215–223 |doi=10.1080/09670870600722959 }}</ref> The organophosphorus nematicide fenamiphos does not reduce crop growth or harvest yield. Nematicide use in cassava does not increase harvested yield significantly, but lower infestation at harvest and lower subsequent storage loss provide a higher effective yield. The use of tolerant and resistant cultivars is the most practical management method in most locales.<ref name="Coyne-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Coyne |first1=Danny L. |last2=Cortada |first2=Laura |last3=Dalzell |first3=Johnathan J. |last4=Claudius-Cole |first4=Abiodun O. |last5=Haukeland |first5=Solveig |last6=Luambano |first6=Nessie |last7=Talwana |first7=Herbert |date=25 August 2018 |title=Plant-Parasitic Nematodes and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa |journal=Annual Review of Phytopathology |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=381–403 |doi=10.1146/annurev-phyto-080417-045833 |pmc=7340484 |pmid=29958072 |bibcode=2018AnRvP..56..381C }}</ref><ref name="Coyne 1994"/><ref name="Uchechukwumgemezu-2020">{{cite web |url=http://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/nigeria-introduce-cassava-varieties-334463 |title=Nigeria to introduce new cassava varieties |website=Todayng |date=2020-12-21 |first=Chidinma |last=Uchechukwumgemezu |access-date=21 December 2020 |archive-date=21 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221194624/https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/nigeria-introduce-cassava-varieties-334463 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Production == {{see also|Tapioca#Production}} {|class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right; width:14em; text-align:center; margin-right:1em;" ! colspan=2|Cassava production – 2022 |- ! style="background:#ddf; width:75%;"|Country ! style="background:#ddf; width:25%;"|millions of tonnes |- |{{NGR}} ||60.8 |- |{{DRC}} ||48.8 |- |{{THA}} ||34.1 |- |{{GHA}} ||25.6 |- |{{CAM}} ||17.7 |- |{{BRA}} ||17.6 |- |'''World''' ||'''330''' |- |colspan=2|Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations<ref name="FAOSTAT-2024">{{cite web|url=http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/QC/E|title=Cassava production in 2022, Crops/World Regions/Production Quantity/Year from pick lists|date=2024|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=29 May 2024}}</ref> |} In 2022, world production of cassava root was 330 million tonnes, led by Nigeria with 18% of the total (table). Other major growers were Democratic Republic of the Congo and Thailand.

Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates in food in the tropics, after rice and maize.<ref name="FAO-2016">{{cite web|title=Cassava|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/gcds/|access-date=24 November 2011|archive-date=18 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118061344/http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/gcds/}}</ref><ref name="Fauquet-1990">{{cite journal |author1=Fauquet Claude |author2=Fargette Denis |year=1990 |title=African Cassava Mosaic Virus: Etiology, Epidemiology, and Control |url=http://www.apsnet.org/publications/PlantDisease/BackIssues/Documents/1990Articles/PlantDisease74n06_404.pdf |journal=Plant Disease |volume=74 |issue=6 |pages=404–411 |doi=10.1094/pd-74-0404 |bibcode=1990PlDis..74..404F |access-date=10 January 2011 |archive-date=9 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809004240/http://www.apsnet.org/publications/PlantDisease/BackIssues/Documents/1990Articles/PlantDisease74n06_404.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Afedraru-2019">{{cite web |last=Afedraru |first=Lominda |title=Uganda to launch innovative gene-edited cassava research |website=Alliance for Science |date=2019-01-31 |url=https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2019/01/uganda-launch-innovative-gene-edited-cassava-research/ |access-date=2021-08-15 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815171521/https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2019/01/uganda-launch-innovative-gene-edited-cassava-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref> making it an important staple; more than 500 million people depend on it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dimensions of Need: An atlas of food and agriculture|publisher=United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) |year=1995|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/u8480e/U8480E01.htm|access-date=23 November 2011|archive-date=24 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124095410/http://www.fao.org/docrep/u8480e/U8480E01.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It offers the advantage of being exceptionally drought-tolerant, and able to grow productively on poor soil. Cassava grows well within 30° of the equator, where it can be produced at up to {{convert|2000|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} above sea level, and with {{convert|50|to|5000|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} of rain per year. These environmental tolerances suit it to conditions across much of South America and Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cock |first=James H. |title=Cassava |journal=The Crop Productivity Symposium, IRRI, los Banos, Philippines |date=September 1980 |pages=1–33 |url=https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0bb17dbb-ef96-4ea9-9ca6-100ae47f0503/content}} reprinted as a chapter in ''Crop physiology case histories for major crops''. Academic Press, 2021, pages 588-633.</ref>

Cassava yields a large amount of food energy per unit area of land per day – {{cvt|250,000|kcal/ha|kJ/ha|order=flip}}, as compared with {{cvt|156,000|kcal/ha|kJ/ha|order=flip}} for rice, {{cvt|110,000|kcal/ha|kJ/ha|order=flip}} for wheat and {{cvt|200,000|kcal/ha|kJ/ha|order=flip}} for maize.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=El-Sharkawy |first1=Mabrouk A. |title=Drought-Tolerant Cassava for Africa, Asia, and Latin America |journal=BioScience |date=1993 |volume=43 |issue=7 |pages=441–451 |doi=10.2307/1311903 |jstor=1311903 |bibcode=1993BiSci..43..441E }}</ref>

Cassava, yams (''Dioscorea'' spp.), and sweet potatoes (''Ipomoea batatas'') are important sources of food in the tropics. The cassava plant gives the third-highest yield of carbohydrates per cultivated area among crop plants, after sugarcane and sugar beets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gardeningplaces.com/articles/nutrition-per-hectare1.htm |title=Nutrition per Hectare for Staple Crops |website=GardeningPlaces.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609084139/http://www.gardeningplaces.com/articles/nutrition-per-hectare1.htm |archive-date=9 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Cassava plays a particularly important role in agriculture in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, because it does well on poor soils and with low rainfall, and because it is a perennial that can be harvested as required. Its wide harvesting window allows it to act as a famine reserve and is invaluable in managing labor schedules. It offers flexibility to resource-poor farmers because it serves as either a subsistence or a cash crop.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stone |first1=G. D. |year=2002 |title=Both Sides Now |journal=Current Anthropology|volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=611–630 |doi=10.1086/341532 }}</ref> Worldwide, 800 million people depend on cassava as their primary food staple.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3278e.pdf |title=Save and Grow: Cassava |date=2013 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |isbn=978-92-5-107641-5 |location=Rome |page=iii |access-date=27 October 2016 |archive-date=23 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123042441/http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3278e.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

<div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;"> {{owidslider |start = 2023 |list = Template:OWID/cassava production#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = link=|thumb|upright=1.6|Cassava production |startingView = World }} </div> <div style="display:inline-table; vertical-align:top;">

{{owidslider |start = 2024 |list = Template:OWID/Cassava yields#gallery |location = commons |caption = |title = |language = |file = link=|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Cassava yields |startingView = World

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== Toxicity == [[File:Linamarin.svg|thumb|left|Raw cassava is dangerous to eat as it contains linamarin (illustrated) and other cyanogenic glycosides, which are broken down to release poisonous hydrogen cyanide.<ref name="Cereda 1996"/>]]

Cassava roots, peels and leaves are dangerous to eat raw because they contain linamarin and lotaustralin, which are toxic cyanogenic glycosides. These are decomposed by the cassava enzyme linamarase, releasing poisonous hydrogen cyanide.<ref name="Cereda 1996">{{Cite journal |last1=Cereda |first1=M. P. |last2=Mattos |first2=M. C. Y. |year=1996 |title=Linamarin: the Toxic Compound of Cassava |journal=Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins|volume=2 |pages=6–12 |doi=10.1590/S0104-79301996000100002 |doi-access=free|hdl=11449/64711 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Cassava varieties are often categorized as either bitter (high in cyanogenic glycosides) or sweet (low in those bitter compounds). Sweet cultivars can contain as little as 20 milligrams of cyanide per kilogram of fresh roots, whereas bitter cultivars may contain as much as 1000 milligrams per kilogram. Cassavas grown during drought are especially high in these toxins.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Aregheore E. M. |author2=Agunbiade O. O. |year=1991 |title=The toxic effects of cassava (''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz) diets on humans: a review|journal=Veterinary and Human Toxicology|volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=274–275 |pmid=1650055}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=White W. L. B. |author2=Arias-Garzon D. I. |author3=McMahon J. M. |author4=Sayre R. T. |year=1998 |title=Cyanogenesis in Cassava, The Role of Hydroxynitrile Lyase in Root Cyanide Production |journal=Plant Physiol. |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=1219–1225 |doi=10.1104/pp.116.4.1219 |pmc=35028 |pmid=9536038}}</ref> A dose of 25 mg of pure cassava cyanogenic glucoside, which contains 2.5 mg of cyanide, is sufficient to kill a rat.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2004 |title=Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC) on hydrocyanic acid in flavourings and other food ingredients with flavouring properties |url=http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/105 |journal=EFSA Journal |volume=105 |pages=1–28 |access-date=6 April 2013 |archive-date=29 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929055532/http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/105 |url-status=live }}</ref> Excess cyanide residue from improper preparation causes goiters and acute cyanide poisoning, and is linked to ataxia (a neurological disorder affecting the ability to walk, also known as ''konzo'').<ref name="FAO-1990" /> It has also been linked to tropical fibrocalcific pancreatitis in humans, leading to chronic pancreatitis.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bhatia E |year=2002 |title=Tropical calcific pancreatitis: strong association with SPINK1 trypsin inhibitor mutations |journal=Gastroenterology|volume=123 |issue=4 |pages=1020–1025 |doi=10.1053/gast.2002.36028 |pmid=12360463|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Harford-2019">{{cite web |last1=Harford |first1=Tim |date=September 4, 2019 |title=How do people learn to cook a poisonous plant safely? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48859333 |access-date=4 September 2019 |work=BBC News |archive-date=4 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904023704/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48859333 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Symptoms of acute cyanide intoxication appear four or more hours after ingesting raw or poorly processed cassava: vertigo, vomiting, goiter, ataxia, partial paralysis, collapse, and death.<ref name="ProMED-2017">{{cite web|url=https://www.promedmail.org/post/4799579|title=CASSAVA POISONING – VENEZUELA|date=29 January 2017|access-date=29 January 2017|publisher=ProMED-mail|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202061550/https://www.promedmail.org/post/4799579}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cassava poisoning was integral to Episode 177 of Series 17 of the BBC drama 'Doctors' |publisher=BBC |date=5 February 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zn3j8 |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208105645/http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06zn3j8/doctors-series-17-177-a-taste-of-home |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Soto-Blanco |first1=Benito |last2=Górniak |first2=Silvana Lima |date=July 2010 |title=Toxic effects of prolonged administration of leaves of cassava (''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz) to goats |journal=Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=361–366 |doi=10.1016/j.etp.2009.05.011 |pmid=19559583 |bibcode=2010EToxP..62..361S }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Suharti |first1=Sri |last2=Oktafiani |first2=Hafni |last3=Sudarman |first3=Asep |last4=Baik |first4=Myunggi |last5=Wiryawan |first5=Komang Gede |date=December 2021 |title=Effect of cyanide-degrading bacteria inoculation on performance, rumen fermentation characteristics of sheep fed bitter cassava (''Manihot esculenta'' Crantz) leaf meal|journal=Annals of Agricultural Sciences |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=131–136 |doi=10.1016/j.aoas.2021.09.001 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It can be treated easily with an injection of thiosulfate (which makes sulfur available for the patient's body to detoxify by converting the poisonous cyanide into thiocyanate).<ref name="FAO-1990"/>

Chronic, low-level exposure to cyanide may contribute to both goiter and tropical ataxic neuropathy, also called konzo, which can be fatal. The risk is highest in famines, when as many as 3 percent of the population may be affected.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Holly |title=Cassava's cyanide-producing abilities can cause neuropathy |url=http://www.cidpusa.org/cassava.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924054056/http://cidpusa.org/cassava.htm |archive-date=24 September 2010 |access-date=21 June 2010 |publisher=cidpusa.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Siritunga D |author2=Sayre RT |date=September–October 2007 |title=Transgenic approaches for cyanogen reduction in cassava |journal=J AOAC Int |volume=90 |issue=5 |pages=1450–1455 |doi=10.1093/jaoac/90.5.1450 |pmid=17955993 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Like many other root and tuber crops, both bitter and sweet varieties of cassava contain antinutritional factors and toxins; the bitter varieties contain much larger amounts.<ref name="FAO-1990">{{cite book |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |year=1990 |title=Roots, tubers, plantains and bananas in human nutrition |chapter=Ch. 7 Toxic substances and antinutritional factors |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/T0207E08.htm#Cassava%20toxicity |place=Rome |isbn=978-92-5-102862-9|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rootstubersplant0000unse}}</ref> The more toxic varieties of cassava have been used in some places as famine food during times of food insecurity.<ref name="ProMED-2017" /><ref name="FAO-1990"/> For example, during the shortages in Venezuela in the late 2010s, dozens of deaths were reported due to Venezuelans resorting to eating bitter cassava in order to curb starvation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Castro |first1=Maolis |date=6 March 2017 |title=La yuca amarga alimenta la muerte en Venezuela |language=es |work=El País |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/03/05/america/1488744764_611719.html |access-date=25 February 2018 |archive-date=12 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212184804/https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/03/05/america/1488744764_611719.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=22 February 2018 |title=Estragos de la crisis: Ocho niños han muerto en Aragua por consumir yuca amarga |language=es-ES |work=La Patilla |url=https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/02/22/estragos-de-la-crisis-ocho-ninos-han-muerto-en-aragua-por-consumir-yuca-amarga/ |access-date=25 February 2018 |archive-date=23 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223022727/https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/02/22/estragos-de-la-crisis-ocho-ninos-han-muerto-en-aragua-por-consumir-yuca-amarga/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Cases of cassava poisoning were also documented during the famine accompanying the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) in China.<ref>{{cite book |author=Zhou Xun |title=The Great Famine in China, 1958-1962: A Documentary History |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2012 |chapter=Ch. 3 Seasons of death}}</ref> Farmers may select bitter cultivars to reduce crop losses.<ref name="Jiggins-2002">{{cite magazine |author1=Chiwona-Karltun, Linley |author2=Katundu, Chrissie |author3=Ngoma, James |author4=Chipungu, Felistus |author5=Mkumbira, Jonathan |author6=Simukoko, Sidney |author7=Jiggins, Janice |year=2002 |title=Bitter cassava and women: an intriguing response to food security |magazine=LEISA Magazine |volume=18 |issue=4 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255687456 |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922101746/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255687456 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Societies that traditionally eat cassava generally understand that processing (soaking, cooking, fermentation, etc.) is necessary to avoid getting sick. Brief soaking (four hours) of cassava is not sufficient, but soaking for 18–24 hours can remove up to half the level of cyanide. Drying may not be sufficient, either.<ref name="FAO-1990"/>

In many West African regions, especially Nigeria, bitter cassava roots are traditionally detoxified in a lengthy process. The roots are peeled and grated. The moist pulp is soaked (or "retted") in water for 48 to 72 hours to initiate spontaneous fermentation. During this period endogenous linamarase acts on linamarin and lotaustralin; the resulting hydrogen cyanide dissolves or volatilises, reducing the cyanogenic potential by 85 – 99 %.<ref name="Gavin-2024">{{cite journal |title=Cyanide in Cassava: A Review |journal=Journal of Food Research |year=2024 |pages=15–29}}</ref><ref name="PMC-2023">{{cite journal |title=When knowledge is not enough: barriers to recommended cassava processing |journal=BMC Public Health |year=2023 |pages=1–13}}</ref><ref name="Padmaja-2008">{{cite journal |title=Processing techniques to reduce toxicity and antinutrients of cassava |journal=Comprehensive Review of Food Science and Food Safety |year=2008 |pages=17–27}}</ref> After soaking, the mash is pressed to expel liquid and boiled, roasted, or toasted to make foods such as gari, fufu, and lafun, further lowering residual cyanide to within the WHO safe limit of 10 mg HCN kg⁻¹.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cyanides reduction and pasting properties of cassava flours fermented 72 h |journal=Food Science and Nutrition |year=2017 |pages=332–340}}</ref>

For some smaller-rooted, sweet varieties, cooking is sufficient to eliminate all toxicity. The cyanide is carried away in the processing water and the amounts produced in domestic consumption are too small to have environmental impact.<ref name="Cereda 1996"/> The larger-rooted, bitter varieties used for production of flour or starch must be processed to remove the cyanogenic glucosides. The large roots are peeled and then ground into flour, which is then soaked in water, squeezed dry several times, and toasted. The starch grains that flow with the water during the soaking process are also used in cooking.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Padmaja |first1=G. |last2=Steinkraus |first2=K. H. |year=1995 |title=Cyanide detoxification in cassava for food and feed uses |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition|volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=299–339 |doi=10.1080/10408399509527703 |pmid=7576161}}</ref> The flour is used throughout South America and the Caribbean. Industrial production of cassava flour, even at the cottage level, may generate enough cyanide and cyanogenic glycosides in the effluents to have a severe environmental impact.<ref name="Cereda 1996"/>

==Uses==

===Food and drink===

There are many ways of cooking cassava.<ref>{{cite book |last=Opie |first=Frederick Douglass |title=Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2008 |at=chapters 1–2}}</ref> It has to be prepared correctly to remove its toxicity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title=Cassava: Benefits, toxicity, and how to prepare |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323756 |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=www.medicalnewstoday.com |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330124043/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323756 |url-status=live }}</ref> The root of the sweet variety is mild to the taste, like potatoes; In Brazil, ''farofa'', a dry meal made from cooked powdered cassava, is roasted in butter, eaten as a side dish, or sprinkled on other food.<ref name="Zeldes-2010">{{cite web |last=Zeldes |first=Leah A. |author-link=Leah A. Zeldes |date=February 3, 2010 |title=Eat this! Hearty Brazilian feijoada, just in time for Carnival! |url=http://blog.diningchicago.com/2010/02/03/eat-this-hearty-brazilian-feijoada-just-in-time-for-carnival/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212233129/http://blog.diningchicago.com/2010/02/03/eat-this-hearty-brazilian-feijoada-just-in-time-for-carnival/ |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |access-date=February 5, 2010 |work=Dining Chicago |publisher=Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide |format= |doi=}}</ref> Jewish households sometimes use it in cholent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manioc Root - Cargo Handbook - the world's largest cargo transport guidelines website |url=https://cargohandbook.com/Manioc_Root |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=cargohandbook.com |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520225044/https://www.cargohandbook.com/Manioc_Root |url-status=live }}</ref> It can be made into a flour that is used in breads, cakes and cookies. In Taiwanese culture, later spread to the United States, cassava "juices" are dried to a fine powder and used to make tapioca, a popular starch used to make bubbles (tapioca pearl), a chewy topping in bubble tea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sweenie |first=Jennifer |date=2023-04-18 |title=What Is Tapioca And How Do You Cook It? |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1261349/what-tapioca-cook/ |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Tasting Table}}</ref> Haitian bambouri and Jamaican bammy are blended Caribbean food traditions, combining Indigenous Caribbean cassava-based cooking with African cultural practices.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mintz |first=Sidney W. |title=Caribbean Transformations |date=1989 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-07114-7 |pages=4-5}}</ref>

Alcoholic beverages made from cassava include cauim (Brazil),<ref name="Schwan-2007">{{cite journal |title=Yeast diversity in rice-cassava fermentations produced by the indigenous Tapirapé people of Brazil |last1=Schwan |first1=Rosane F. |last2=Almeida |first2=Euziclei G. |last3=Souza-dias |first3=Maria Aparecida G. |last4=Jespersen |first4=Lene |date=September 2007 |volume=7 |pages=966–972 |journal=FEMS Yeast Research |doi=10.1111/j.1567-1364.2007.00241.x |pmid=17697080 |issue=6 |doi-access=free }}</ref> kasiri (Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname),<ref>{{cite news |last=van Vark |first=Manon |title=Tribal cures for modern ailments, Surinam |date=28 August 1999 |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/431829.stm |quote=Their staple food is cassava, from which they make cassava bread and brew ''kasiri'', 'cassava beer'.}}</ref> parakari or kari (Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henkel |first1=Terry W. |title=Parakari, an indigenous fermented beverage using amylolytic Rhizopus in Guyana |journal=Mycologia |date=March 2005 |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1080/15572536.2006.11832833 |pmid=16389951 }}</ref> and nihamanchi (South America),<ref>{{cite book |last=Howell |first=Edward |title=Enzyme Nutrition: The Food Enzyme Concept |publisher=Avery Publishing |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-89529-221-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9EgG8O7GgIC&dq=Howell+Enzyme&pg=PP1 |page=49}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Cassava heavy cake.jpg|Heavy cake File:Cassava bread.jpg|Bread File:Cambodia16 lo (4039995158).jpg|Noodles, Cambodia </gallery>

=== Preparation of bitter cassava ===

An ancestral method used by the indigenous people of the Caribbean to detoxify cassava is by peeling, grinding, and mashing; filtering the mash through a basket tube (sebucan or tipiti) to remove the hydrogen cyanide; and drying and sieving the mash for flour. The poisonous filtrate water was boiled to release the hydrogen cyanide, and used as a base for stews.<ref name="Keegan-2008">{{Cite book |last1=Keegan |first1=William |title=Talking Taino: Caribbean Natural History from a Native Perspective (Caribbean Archaeology and Ethnohistory) |last2=Carlson |first2=Lisbeth |publisher=Fire Ant Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8173-5508-1 |page=74}}</ref>

A safe processing method known as the "wetting method" is to mix the cassava flour with water into a thick paste, spread it in a thin layer over a basket and then let it stand for five hours at 30 °C in the shade.<ref name="Bradbury-2006">{{cite journal |last1=Bradbury |first1=J.H. |date=2006 |title=Simple wetting method to reduce cyanogen content of cassava flour |url=http://biology-assets.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/CCDN/papers/Howard_06.pdf |journal=Journal of Food Composition and Analysis |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=388–393 |doi=10.1016/j.jfca.2005.04.012 |bibcode=2006JFCA...19..388B |access-date=23 March 2018 |archive-date=5 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205063243/http://biology-assets.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/CCDN/papers/Howard_06.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In that time, about 83% of the cyanogenic glycosides are broken down by linamarase; the resulting hydrogen cyanide escapes to the atmosphere, making the flour safe for consumption the same evening.<ref name="Bradbury-2006" />

The traditional method used in West Africa is to peel the roots and put them into water for three days to ferment. The roots are then dried or cooked. In Nigeria and several other west African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, they are usually grated and lightly fried in palm oil to preserve them. The result is a foodstuff called garri. Fermentation is also used in other places such as Indonesia, such as Tapai. The fermentation process also reduces the level of antinutrients, making the cassava a more nutritious food.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oboh |first1=G. |last2=Oladunmoye |first2=M.K. |title=Biochemical Changes in Micro-Fungi Fermented Cassava Flour Produced from Low- and Medium-Cyanide Variety of Cassava Tubers |journal=Nutrition and Health |volume=18 |issue=4 |date=2007 |pages=355–367 |doi=10.1177/026010600701800405 |pmid=18087867 }}</ref> The reliance on cassava as a food source and the resulting exposure to the goitrogenic effects of thiocyanate has been responsible for the endemic goiters seen in the Akoko area of southwestern Nigeria.<ref name="Akindahunsi-1998">{{cite journal |last1=Akindahunsi |first1=A. A. |last2=Grissom |first2=F. E. |last3=Adewusi |first3=S. R. |last4=Afolabi |first4=O. A. |last5=Torimiro |first5=S. E. |last6=Oke |first6=O. L. |title=Parameters of thyroid function in the endemic goitre of Akungba and Oke-Agbe villages of Akoko area of southwestern Nigeria |journal=African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences |volume=27 |issue=3–4 |date=1998 |pages=239–242 |pmid=10497657 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bumoko |first1=G.M.-M. |last2=Sadiki |first2=N.H. |last3=Rwatambuga |first3=A. |last4=Kayembe |first4=K.P. |last5=Okitundu |first5=D.L. |last6=Mumba Ngoyi |first6=D. |last7=Muyembe |first7=J.-J.T. |last8=Banea |first8=J.-P. |last9=Boivin |first9=M.J. |last10=Tshala-Katumbay |first10=D. |title=Lower serum levels of selenium, copper, and zinc are related to neuromotor impairments in children with konzo |journal=Journal of the Neurological Sciences |volume=349 |issue=1–2 |date=2015 |pmid=25592410 |pmc=4323625 |doi=10.1016/j.jns.2015.01.007 |pages=149–153}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:PeeledCassava.jpg|Tuberous root, peeled and soaking to reduce toxicity File:Tipiti.jpg|Filling a sebucan or tipiti filter </gallery>

Bioengineering has been applied to grow cassava with lower cyanogenic glycosides combined with fortification of vitamin A, iron and protein to improve the nutrition of people in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sayre |first1=R. |last2=Beeching |first2=J. R. |last3=Cahoon |first3=E. B. |last4=Egesi |first4=C. |last5=Fauquet |first5=C. |last6=Fellman |first6=J. |last7=Fregene |first7=M. |last8=Gruissem |first8=W. |last9=Mallowa |first9=S. |last10=Manary |first10=M. |last11=Maziya-Dixon |first11=B. |year=2011 |title=The BioCassava Plus Program: Biofortification of Cassava for Sub-Saharan Africa |journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology|volume=62 |pages=251–272 |doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-042110-103751 |pmid=21526968 |last12=Mbanaso |first12=A. |last13=Schachtman |first13=D. P. |last14=Siritunga |first14=D. |last15=Taylor |first15=N. |last16=Vanderschuren |first16=H. |last17=Zhang |first17=P.|issue=1 |bibcode=2011AnRPB..62..251S }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2018 |title=BioCassava Plus |url=https://www.danforthcenter.org/scientists-research/research-institutes/institute-for-international-crop-improvement/crop-improvement-projects/biocassava-plus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327133605/http://www.danforthcenter.org/scientists-research/research-institutes/institute-for-international-crop-improvement/crop-improvement-projects/biocassava-plus |archive-date=27 March 2016 |access-date=23 March 2018 |publisher=Donald Danforth Plant Science Center |place=St. Louis, Missouri, USA}}</ref>

In Guyana the traditional cassareep is made from bitter cassava juice.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Aregheore, E. M. |author2=Agunbiade, O. O. |title=The toxic effects of cassava (manihot esculenta grantz) diets on humans: a review. |journal=Vet. Hum. Toxicol.|year=1991 |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=274–275 |pmid=1650055 }}</ref> The juice is boiled until it is reduced by half in volume,<ref name="Jackson-1872">{{Cite journal |last=Jackson |first=J. R. |title=New Edibles |journal=Food Journal |volume=2 |year=1872 |page=372-378 [375] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R3kBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA375 }}</ref> to the consistency of molasses<ref name="Nicholls-1906">{{Cite book |last=Nicholls |first=Henry Alfred Alford |title=A text-book of tropical agriculture |publisher=Macmillan |year=1906 |page=[https://archive.org/details/atextbooktropic00nichgoog/page/n308 278] |url=https://archive.org/details/atextbooktropic00nichgoog }}</ref> and flavored with spices—including cloves, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Dunstan A. |title=Island Cooking: Recipes from the Caribbean |publisher=Ten Speed Press |year=2003 |page=138 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqK1EzO00oIC&pg=PA138 |isbn=978-1-58008-501-4}}</ref> Traditionally, cassareep was boiled in a soft pot, the actual "pepper pot", which would absorb the flavors and also impart them (even if dry) to foods such as rice and chicken cooked in it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=John George |title=Man and his handiwork |publisher=Society for promoting Christian knowledge |year=1886 |pages=455–456 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mAUPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA455 }}</ref> The poisonous but volatile hydrogen cyanide is evaporated by heating.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Meehans' monthly: a magazine of horticulture, botany and kindred subjects, Volumes 11-12 |publisher=Thomas Meehan & Sons |year=1901 |page=108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nqnNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA107 }}</ref> Nevertheless, improperly cooked cassava has been blamed for a number of deaths.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=W. L. B. |author2=Arias-Garzon, D. I. |author3=McMahon, J. M. |author4=Sayre R. T. |title=Cyanogenesis in Cassava: The Role of Hydroxynitrile Lyase in Root Cyanide Production |journal=Plant Physiology |year=1998 |volume=116 |issue=4 |pmid=9536038 |pages=1219–1225 |pmc=35028 |doi=10.1104/pp.116.4.1219}}</ref> Amerindians from Guyana reportedly made an antidote by steeping chili peppers in rum.<ref name="Nicholls-1906"/> The natives of Guyana traditionally brought the product to town in bottles,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalton |first=Henry G. |title=The History of British Guiana: Comprising a General Description of the Colony (1855) |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation (reprint) |year=2005 |page=185 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nM8-MbduHgC&pg=PA184 |isbn=978-1-4021-8865-7}}</ref> and it is available on the US market in bottled form.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herbst |first=Sharon Tyler |title=The new food lover's companion: comprehensive definitions of nearly 6,000 food, drink, and culinary terms |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |year=2001 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newfoodloverscom00herb/page/105 105] |url=https://archive.org/details/newfoodloverscom00herb/page/105 |isbn=978-0-7641-1258-4 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

=== Nutrition ===

{{Nutritional value |name=Cassava, raw |kJ=670 |water=60 g |protein=1.4 g |fat=0.3 g |carbs=38.1 g |fiber=1.8 g |sugars=1.7 g |calcium_mg=16 |iron_mg=0.27 |magnesium_mg=21 |phosphorus_mg=27 |potassium_mg=271 |sodium_mg=14 |zinc_mg=0.34 |manganese_mg= |vitC_mg=20.6 |thiamin_mg=0.087 |riboflavin_mg=0.048 |niacin_mg=0.854 |pantothenic_mg= |vitB6_mg=0.088 |folate_ug=27 |note=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170712215400/https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2907?manu=&fgcd=&ds=Full Link to USDA Database entry] }}

Raw cassava is 60% water, 38% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and has negligible fat (table).<ref name="Tewe-2004">{{cite web |title=The Global Cassava Development Strategy|year=2004 |author=Tewe, Olumide O.|publisher=U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/j1255e/j1255e00.htm|access-date=24 November 2011|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119045952/http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/j1255e/j1255e00.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In a {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2|abbr=off|adj=on}} reference serving, raw cassava provides {{convert|160|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of food energy and 23% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C, but otherwise has no micronutrients in significant content (i.e., above 10% of the relevant DV).<ref name="Tewe-2004" />

=== Biofuel ===

Cassava has been studied as a feedstock to produce ethanol as a biofuel, including to improve the efficiency of conversion from cassava flour,<ref name="Bakky-2021">{{cite journal |last1=Bakky |first1=Aa |last2=Hoque |first2=Mr |last3=Islam |first3=Ms |title=Production of Biofuel from Cassava |journal=Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources |volume=12 |issue=1–2 |date=11 February 2021 |pages=171–174 |doi=10.3329/jesnr.v12i1-2.52032 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and to convert crop residues such as stems and leaves as well as the more easily processed roots.<ref name="Sivamani-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Sivamani |first1=Selvaraju |last2=Chandrasekaran |first2=Arun Pandian |last3=Balajii |first3=Muthusamy |last4=Shanmugaprakash |first4=Muthusamy |last5=Hosseini-Bandegharaei |first5=Ahmad |last6=Baskar |first6=Rajoo |title=Evaluation of the potential of cassava-based residues for biofuels production |journal=Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology |volume=17 |issue=3 |date=2018 |pages=553–570 |doi=10.1007/s11157-018-9475-0 |bibcode=2018RESBT..17..553S }}</ref> China has created facilities to produce substantial amounts of ethanol fuel from cassava roots.<ref name="Anderson-Sprecher">{{cite web |last1=Anderson-Sprecher |first1=Andrew |last2=Ji |first2=James |title=China Biofuel Industry Faces Uncertain Future |publisher=USDA Foreign Agriculture Service |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Biofuels%20Annual_Beijing_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_9-3-2015.pdf |access-date=8 November 2019 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727083130/https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Biofuels%20Annual_Beijing_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_9-3-2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The small-granule mutation facilitates starch hydrolysis and has been linked to biofuel production.<ref name="Ceballos2008">{{cite journal |last=Ceballos |first=Hernan |title=Induction and Identification of a Small-Granule, High-Amylose Mutant in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) |year=2008 |journal=J. Agric. Food Chem. |volume=56 |issue=16 |pages=7215–7222 |doi=10.1021/jf800603p |date= 26 July 2008 |pmid=18656938 |bibcode=2008JAFC...56.7215C }}</ref><ref name="MorenoAlzate2024">{{cite journal |last=Moreno Alzate |first=Jhon Larry |title=Physicochemical characterization of special cassava starches and their application for bio-ethanol production through no-cook technology at very high gravity |year=2024 |journal=Industrial Crops & Products |volume=219 |issue=119095 |article-number=119095 |doi=10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.119095 }}</ref>

===Animal feed===

Cassava roots and hay are used worldwide as animal feed. Young cassava hay is harvested at three to four month, when it reaches about {{convert|30|to|45|cm|abbr=on}} above ground; it is dried in the sun until its dry matter content approaches 85 percent. The hay contains 20–27 percent protein and 1.5–4 percent tannin. It is valued as a source of roughage for ruminants such as cattle.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=R. Lunsin |author2=M. Wanapat |author3=P. Rowlinson |title=Effect of cassava hay and rice bran oil supplementation on rumen fermentation, milk yield and milk composition in lactating dairy cows |journal=Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences|date=October 2012 |volume=25 |issue=10 |pages=1364–1373 |doi=10.5713/ajas.2012.12051 |pmc=4093022 |pmid=25049491}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Cassava being grated.jpg|Grating of tuberous roots File:Close-up of grated cassava.jpg|A close-up of the product File:Cassava drying on a road.jpg|Drying on road to be used for pig and chicken feed </gallery>

=== Laundry starch ===

Cassava is used in laundry products, especially as starch to stiffen shirts and other garments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tapioca or Cassava |url=https://www.botanischetuinen.nl/en/plant_en/5818/tapioca-or-cassava |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=www.botanischetuinen.nl |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420125913/https://www.botanischetuinen.nl/en/plant_en/5818/tapioca-or-cassava |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Folklore ==

Maní, a Tupí myth of origins, is the name of an indigenous girl with very fair complexion. The Amazonian legend of Maní is related to the cult of Manioc, the native staple that sprang from her grave.<ref>Livia de Almeida, Ana Portella, Margaret Read MacDonald, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BmShpbrZCYkC&dq=Mani+brazilian+folklore&pg=PR11 ''Brazilian folktales''], g. xi, Libraries Unlimited (2006), {{ISBN|1-56308-930-0}}</ref><ref>Yara Roberts, Richard Roberts, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mLyUZy4dr2kC&dq=%22Mani+oca%22&pg=PA40 The ''Brazilian Table''], p. 40, Gibbs M. Smith Inc (2009), {{ISBN|1-4236-0315-X}}</ref><ref name="Alexander">Hartley Burr Alexander, [https://books.google.com/books?id=v1PwvkKge6kC&dq=Mani+Manioc&pg=PA186 ''Latin-American [Mythology]''], p. 186, General Books (2009), {{ISBN|1-150-14877-2}}</ref> Sometime later a crack opened on the earth and the people of the tribe found a fruit that resembled the white skin tone of the dead child's body. They picked up the fruit from the ground, peeled and cooked it, and for their surprise it tasted delicious. It even renewed their strength. They also prepared a drink which could easily put one to sleep. So, from this day on, they began using the root as their staple food and called it "mandioca", which in Tupy language means "house (oca, in Tupi–Guarani) of Mandi= Maní".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mw4.m-w.com/dictionary/manioc |title= ''Definition of Manioc'' |author= Merrian Webster Dictionary |date= |work= First Known Use: circa 1554 |publisher= mw4.m-w.com |access-date= 13 September 2010 |archive-date= 14 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110714011956/http://mw4.m-w.com/dictionary/manioc }}</ref>

In Java, a myth relates that food derives from the body of Dewi Teknowati, who killed herself rather than accept the advances of the god Batara Guru. She was buried, and her lower leg grew into a cassava plant.<ref name="Sudardi-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Sudardi |first1=Bani |last2=Widyastuti |first2=Hesti |title=The Folklore about Food Sustainability according Javanese Culture |journal=Journal of Education and Social Science |issue=3 |year=2016 |pages=8–11 |url=https://www.jesoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/KC3_17.pdf}}</ref> In Trinidad, folk stories tell of a ''saapina'' or snake-woman; the word is related to ''sabada'', meaning to pound, for what is traditionally a woman's work of pounding cassava.<ref name="Provost-2011">{{cite journal |last1=Provost |first1=M. C. L. |title=Where Asian Indian folklore meets Arawak and Kalinago folklore, 'Sound' Symmetry and Asymmetry can make you jump! |journal=Lokoratna Journal of Folklore |date=2011 |volume=6 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267155922}}</ref>

The identity of the Macushi people of Guyana is closely bound up with the growth and processing of cassava in their slash-and-burn subsistence lifestyle. A story tells that the great spirit Makunaima climbed a tree, cutting off pieces with his axe; when they landed on the ground, each piece became a type of animal. The opossum brought the people to the tree, where they found all the types of food, including bitter cassava. A bird told the people how to prepare the cassava safely.<ref name="Schacht-2013">{{cite book |last1=Schacht |first1=Ryan N. |title=Food and Identity in the Caribbean |chapter=Cassava and the Makushi: A Shared History of Resiliency and Transformation |date=2013 |pages=15–30 |doi=10.5040/9781350042162.ch-001 |isbn=978-1-350-04216-2 }}</ref>

==See also== {{Div col}} * Columbian Exchange * Yellow cassava * Cassava-based dishes {{Div col end}}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

{{Sister project links |auto=no |c=Manihot esculenta |cookbook=Cassava |n=no |q=no |s=no |species=Manihot esculenta |v=no |wikt=cassava}} * [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/cassava.html Cassava – Purdue University Horticulture] * [https://archive.today/20121205102237/http://www.new-ag.info/98-6/focuson/focuson9.html Cassava Pests: From Crisis to Control] * [http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/gcds/index_en.html Why cassava? Global Cassava Development Strategy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107074144/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/gcds/index_en.html |date=7 November 2016 }}

esculenta Category:Biofuels Category:Caribbean cuisine Category:Central American cuisine Category:Crops originating from South America Category:Crops Category:Flora of Jamaica Category:Flora of Southern America Category:French Guianan cuisine Category:Jamaican cuisine Category:Root vegetables Category:Tropical agriculture Category:Tubers Category:Crops originating from indigenous Americans Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status Category:Cassava Category:Native American cuisine