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Cassava - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cassava is grown for its enlarged starch-filled roots, which contains nearly the maximum theoretical concentration of starch on a dry weight basis among food crops. Fresh roots contain about 30% starch and very little protein.
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Cassava - Manihot esculenta, a low-protein, starchy staple. ... Cassava, also known has manioc, is a tropical, starchy staple of South American origin. Potatoes and yams are other starchy staples. Cassava has another disadvantage; the fleshy roots contain poisonous compounds (cyanogenic glycosides - compounds that...
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That’s a serious problem for the 500 million people who rely on cassava as their main source of calories, among them subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, said Richard Sayre, a professor of plant biology at Ohio State University.
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Information on growing the crop and the industry in Thailand.
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Cassava is a shrubby, tropical, perennial plant that is not well known in the temperate zone. For most people, cassava is most commonly associated with tapioca. The plant grows tall, sometimes reaching 15 feet, with leaves varying in shape and size.
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Cassava (Manihot esculenta ) originated in the Americas. It is a shrub with an average height of one metre, and has a palmate leaf formation. Cassava belongs to the family of rubber plants with a white latex flowing out of its wounded stem and leaf stalk.
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1. edible root of plant: a large thick-skinned tuber that is poisonous when raw and untreated but like the potato when boiled. Use: as a vegetable in many tropical countries, as a source of tapioca. ... 2. tropical plant with edible root: a tropical plant that produces cassava. Latin name Manihot esculenta.
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; For further information contact: Carmenza Llano; More background on CIAT’s Cassava work; Improved Germplasm at CIAT; Visit the CIAT Cassava Improvement Web site (in Spanish) ... Cassava, or Manihot esculenta Crantz, is grown in over 90 countries and provides a livelihood for half a billion people in the developing world.
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