Abstract

Onofejire Ogaga Anderson

Preliminary studies involving the age of stem on the growth of Manihot esculentus was carried out at the teaching and Research farm of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt during the 2010 and 2011 farming season. The experiment consisted of full length cuttings of M. esculentus obtained from two locations within along precipitation gradients in the state-Ndoni in Ogba/ Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Area and Abara in Etche Local Government all in Rivers State. The cuttings were divided into three pieces of distal, media and apical. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with three replicate per treatment. Cutting position (source) did not show significant (P< 0.05) effect on the parameters tested (girth, height and branches of M. esculentus). Cutting at the distal position recorded the highest values for the parameters evaluated. Percentage sprouting was high plants planted at poultry site ranging from 17.5-30.7% compared to 12-34.5% in plants planted at the back of the laboratory. The study suggests that propagation of M. esculentus by cutting at the distal position be encourage for enhanced growth performance.