Root Yield Response of Pro-Vitamin andlsquo;Aandrsquo; Cassava to Climatic Parametersin Umudike, Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Root yield response of pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava was studied in Umudike for five years using climatic data collected from Agro-met Unit of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike. Data on pertinent climatic parameter and their relationship with pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava were analyzed using regression, correlation and descriptive statistics. The results reveal that all the seven climatic parameters possess upward trends with annual values of rainfall increasing at the rate of 2.455 mm annually, maximum temperature 0.029°C, minimum temperature 0.220°C, mean annual temperature 0.024°C, relative humidity 0.282%, sunshine hours 0.004 hrs and soil temperature 0.015°C. Correlating climatic indices with pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava root yield, time, relative humidity and soil temperature were significant at 5% level of confidence, that is 61%, 60%, and 64% respectively while the relationship with maximum temperature were significant at 10% confidence level, that is 53%. Some other factors such as agronomic practices and nutrient content of the soil could have contributed to the root yield of pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava in the study area. In conclusion, the variations in root yield of pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava over the years studied in Umudike depend majorly on the values and trends of climatic parameters. Therefore, it is recommended, among others, that the variability, values, and trends of pertinent climatic parameters should be monitored constantly.