Cassava is a vital source of calories for close to a billion people across the world. The plant is a woody, perennial shrub with edible roots. Cassava roots are rich in carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, vitamins B and C, ...
Agriculture
Dec 06, 2021
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6
Wasps have a reputation for being jerks because of their perceived aggressiveness and ability to sting repeatedly. They're often negatively compared with the honey production and agricultural pollination of bees.
Plants & Animals
Oct 29, 2021
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569
Two new publications examining cassava flowering reveal insights into the genetic and environmental factors underpinning one of the world's most critical food security crops.
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2021
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195
Delivering the benefits of agricultural biotechnology to smallholder farmers requires that resources be directed toward staple food crops. To achieve effect at scale, beneficial traits must be integrated into multiple, elite ...
Biotechnology
Feb 16, 2021
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10
In an article published in Conservation Science and Practice, scientists highlight an overlooked but science-backed and nature-based solution to help countries tackle key environmental and sustainable development concerns. ...
Environment
Dec 09, 2020
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New knowledge about the flowering mechanism of a popular cassava cultivar, gleaned by a RIKEN-led study, could help efforts to produce improved breeds of the crop.
Plants & Animals
Nov 27, 2020
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16
Carbon dioxide fuels photosynthesis, the process by which plants generate their food in the form of carbohydrates. The atmosphere's carbon dioxide levels are rapidly increasing, but there is uncertainty about whether plants ...
Ecology
Nov 11, 2020
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9
Scientists in Cornell University's NextGen Cassava project have uncovered new details regarding cassava's genetic architecture that may help breeders more easily pinpoint traits for one of Africa's most vital crops.
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2020
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7
Half a century ago, cassava was a simple staple crop for some smallholder farmers in Asia eking out a living in harsh landscapes.
Biotechnology
Apr 16, 2020
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261
The normal way to study cassava roots is digging up the plant. Unfortunately, that tends to kill the plant, causing serious complications for researchers who are interested in learning more about how cassava grows. To solve ...
Biotechnology
Dec 12, 2019
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8
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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