A nutty-flavored, starchy root vegetable, cassava (also known as yuca) is one of the most drought-resistant crops and is a major source of calories and carbs for people in developing countries, serving as the primary food ...
Ecology
Oct 30, 2019
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Today, as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly, hundreds of emerging leaders focused on fighting global inequality came together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's third annual Goalkeepers event in New York ...
Biotechnology
Sep 25, 2019
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Using gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plants could have serious negative ramifications, according to new research by plant biologists at the University of Alberta, the University of Liège in Belgium ...
Biotechnology
Apr 26, 2019
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Southeast Asia is the source of 95 percent of global cassava exports, and the detection in 2015 in Cambodia of the potentially harvest-devastating Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) raised alarm. By 2016, the disease, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 22, 2019
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A new study led by Danforth Center principal investigator Nigel Taylor and research scientist Narayanan Narayanan, shows that field-grown cassava plants overexpressing a combination of plant genes can accumulate significantly ...
Biotechnology
Jan 28, 2019
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Using the famous CRISPR-Cas9 gene scissors, plant biotechnologists at ETH Zurich have been able to improve cassava. The new variety has amylose-free or 'waxy' starch, which is preferred by industry.
Biotechnology
Sep 06, 2018
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Researchers from half a dozen states in West Africa have joined together in a battle against what one expert calls a root crop "Ebola"—a viral disease that could wreck the region's staple food and condemn millions to hunger.
Plants & Animals
Jul 08, 2018
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Cassava is a staple in the diet of more than one billion people across 105 countries, yet this "orphaned crop" has received little attention compared to popular crops like corn and soybeans. While advances in breeding have ...
Biotechnology
May 10, 2018
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Cassava is one of the developing world's most important crops. Its starchy roots and leaves are a staple food for more than 500 million people in Africa each day. And Africa produces half of the world's total cassava output; ...
Biotechnology
Jan 30, 2018
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Deep in the Amazon rainforest, it's that time again—beer o'clock.
Environment
Nov 02, 2017
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Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly-spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing plant.
Cassava is the third largest source of food carbohydrates in the world. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava. It is classified as sweet or bitter, depending on the level of toxic cyanogenic glucosides. (However, bitter taste is not always a reliable measure.) Improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters, and has been linked to ataxia or partial paralysis. Nevertheless, farmers often prefer the bitter varieties because they deter pests, animals, and thieves. In some locations the more toxic varieties serve as a fall-back resource (a "food security crop") in times of famine.
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