Cassava has a sure-fire trick for high yields: good seed stock produces good seedlings
Apply plenty of base fertilizer. Many people plant cassava on hillsides and dry land without applying any base fertilizer, letting it grow wherever it lands, so yields end up very low. To improve the returns from growing cassava, the land should first be plowed well, with a plant spacing of 1 m, holes dug, and plenty of mixed fertilizer such as chicken manure, plant ash and garbage sludge applied, one large bowl per hole, to lay a solid foundation for sprouting and tuber growth. Select good improved...
Apply plenty of base fertilizer. Many people plant cassava on hillsides and dry land without applying any base fertilizer, letting it grow wherever it lands, so yields end up very low. To improve the returns from growing cassava, the land should first be plowed well, with a plant spacing of 1 m, holes dug, and plenty of mixed fertilizer such as chicken manure, plant ash and garbage sludge applied, one large bowl per hole, to lay a solid foundation for sprouting and tuber growth. Select good improved varieties. Good seed stock produces good seedlings, and variety is the key to high or low yields. Good improved cassava varieties include Nan Zhi 188, Zhongshan cassava and others. If tail stems or branch stems are used as planting material, the tubers formed are few and small, so you should use disease-free, undamaged, close-noded main root stems 1 m long as seed stock. Take 20 cm as a section, use a sharp knife to cut a slanting edge at the lower end, and 8 cm above the slanting edge, cut through the bark to the xylem, peeling out a notch 2 cm long in the bark and 3/4 of the way around the stem circumference, leaving 1/4 of the bark to transport water and nutrients; then at 14 cm up, cut another notch in the same way, place the seed stem horizontally in the base-fertilizer hole, and cover with 3-5 cm of soil. This new planting method is drought-tolerant, wind-resistant, not easily uprooted or lodged, and forms tubers in multiple layers, making it easy for the tubers to grow thicker and longer as they spread forward. Control insects and prevent rats. When cassava has just sprouted, cutworms like to steal and eat the seedlings. One cutworm can eat one seedling in a night, doing great damage. Cutworms dig burrows, come out at night to eat cassava seedlings, and burrow back into their holes before dawn, sealing the hole entrance with fresh soil. So by digging 10-20 cm by hand you can catch them, and they can also be used to feed chickens. Once the tuber-growing stage arrives, rats will steal and eat the tubers, so rat control measures must be taken. Weed and fertilize. When the seedlings have grown to about 20 cm, keep only the single thickest main shoot, and all the other branch shoots can be picked off to feed fish. At the same time, hoe and loosen the soil, pull up weeds and cover the soil around the roots. Apply one spoonful of urea per plant, cover with soil, to boost shoot growth. When the seedlings reach 1 m, carry out a second weeding and loosening of the soil, but do not hoe through the tuber-bearing roots, and apply one spoonful of compound fertilizer per plant, to grow both shoots and tubers. During the tuber-growing stage, there is generally a dry season, and because the soil is hard the tubers struggle to grow, which inevitably lowers yields, so at this time it is best to water once a week, keeping the soil moist and loose, which favors tuber growth. Keep good seed stems. If cassava is harvested too early, it has less starch, more water and a low drying rate. You should harvest the tubers after mid-November, choosing a clear sunny day. Take a 1 m length of thick, strong, disease-free, close-noded main stem, or the main stem below the fork, dig a hole for storage in a hillside bank facing south with its back to the north, and seal the hole entrance well. You can also dig a deep pit on sloping ground, put the stems in, cover with 10 cm of soil, then cover with rice straw to avoid damage from frost and snow, making full preparations for spring planting next year.