Cassava Cultivars under Ado-Ekiti Conditions, Nigeria: Implications for Stem Multiplication

Reliable stem cuttings are the primary planting material in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production, yet cultivar comparisons are frequently reported only at harvest, when propagation decisions for the next planting cycle have already passed. This study characterised the pre-harvest vegetative performance of three cassava cultivars (Vitamin A, Agric and White Lion) grown under rain-fed, low-input conditions at Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, and evaluated its implications for stem multiplication. Twenty plants per cultivar were assessed for stem length, leaf number and stem thickness 109 days after planting (planted 28 May 2026; assessed 14 September 2026); each cultivar occupied a single, spatially separate plot. Welch one-way ANOVA showed significant cultivar differences in all three traits (p<0.001; η 2 =0.33–0.53), with White Lion consistently exceeding Vitamin A and Agric. A principal component analysis produced a single dominant vegetative-vigour axis (PC1) accounting for 85.9% of trait variance, on which White Lion scored highest. Traits were translated into two propagation-relevant indices—estimated cuttings per stem (based on a 20 cm cutting standard) and node density per 10 cm of stem—to link the vegetative data directly to multiplication potential. White Lion yielded significantly more estimated cuttings per stem (5.5±1.3) than Vitamin A (3.4±1.3) and Agric (2.8±0.8), whereas Agric had the highest node density despite its smaller stems. These results, drawn from a single plot per cultivar at one site, indicate that cultivar choice under Ado-Ekiti's sandy loam, rain-fed conditions is associated with measurable differences in planting-material output before any root yield is realised, and support White Lion as the stronger candidate for rapid stem multiplication at this site, pending confirmation in a replicated trial.