Yield performance of introduced cassava clones in an Ultisol in Puerto Rico

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to describe and determine the agronomic potential of the "Huamoa" plantain in comparison with that of the Common Dwarf. Cultivars were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications; each replication contained 16 experimental plants per treatment. The "Huamoa" cultivar produced bunches significantly earlier than the Common Dwarf. It completed the planting to bunch emergence cycle in 242 days and required only 63 days for fruit filling.The Common Dwarf needed 297 days to complete the cycle and required 92 days for fruit filling. The latter, however, produced significantly larger and heavier bunches, which on average contained eight hands, 39 fruits and weighed 14.0 kg. Individual fruits in the first and fourth uppermost hands of the "Huamoa" bunch, were significantly heavier, with a mean weight of 466 and 336 g, respectively. Regardless of hand position in the bunch, the "Huamoa" fruits were always significantly thicker and the Common Dwarf fruits substantially longer. However, on the basis of locally established market standards none of the fruits obtained from the sixth or lower hands of either cultivar were considered marketable.