Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Trivandrum-695017
* Present address: Scientist S-3 (Plant Physiology), Sugarcane Breeding Institute Coimbatore 641007.
Eighty nine genotypes of cassva (Manihot esculenta Crantz) were evaluated for their productivity based on bicmass yield and harvest index at 6 and 10 month stages. While biomass production and tuber yield increased with age of the crop, harvest index showed very little difference as the age of the crop advanced. Tuber yield at 10 month stage, showed highly significant positive correlation with biomass yield of 6 month stage (r= 0.879). The results suggested that the productivity of cassava genotypes could be assessed at 6 month stage itself rather than the conventional method of evaluating at 10-12 months stage.
