Last updated on October 31st, 2026 at 09:05 am
Choosing among cassava varieties decides how many bags a plot returns and how much of it survives disease. On my farm, improved TME and TMS stems now grow beside Nwanyi ocha, the white-stemmed local type my family has always planted.
In Abia State, most farmers still plant local types handed down through families, alongside newer stems from research institutes.
I recently added TME 419, buying stems from a government team that visited our community to promote the variety.
I also grow TMS lines, and the gap in yield between them and our local types is easy to see at harvest.
This post compares what I grow with what IITA and Nigerian researchers report about yield, disease, and maturity.
It closes with yellow vitamin A types, which I have never seen, and where to find clean planting stems.
Table of Contents
What Makes Cassava Varieties Differ?
Types differ in yield, disease resistance, root color, cyanide level, dry matter, and the number of months they need before harvest.
Cyanide ranges from about 20 milligrams per kilogram in sweet cultivars to 1,000 in bitter ones, according to Wikipedia.
That split between low and high cyanide types is set out in the post on bitter versus sweet cassava.
Another divide is breeding: local types selected by farmers across generations, and improved lines bred by IITA and Nigerian research institutes.
How breeders cross parent plants to build those lines is described in the post on hybrid cassava breeding methods.
What Grows on My Farm
| Variety | Group | What I see on my plots |
|---|---|---|
| Nwanyi ocha | Local, white stem | Lower yield, more prone to disease |
| Other local types | Local | Lower yield, more prone to disease |
| TME 419 | Improved, IITA | Higher yield; stems bought from a government team |
| TMS lines | Improved, IITA | Higher yield than the local types |
We call our main local type Nwanyi ocha, a name that comes from the white color of its stem.
Several other local types grow around Ntigha as well, alongside the improved stems I have started planting in recent seasons.
My TME 419 stems came from people the government sent to sensitize farmers about the variety.
TMS stems share the same plots, planted together with the local types rather than kept in separate fields.
The improved types clearly give more roots per plot, while the local types suffer more from disease each season.
TME 419
TME 419 began as a landrace from Togo that IITA improved in Nigeria and gave resistance to mosaic disease, a Frontiers study reports.
The same study describes TME 419 as very productive and widely distributed, which matches what I see locally.
Wikifarmer puts its yield near 36 tons per hectare under good conditions, with dry matter reaching 40 percent.
Its erect, straight stems suit intercropping, which fits our habit of planting yam, corn, and melon between cassava rows.
High dry matter matters to processors, because more of each root ends up as garri, flour, or starch.
TMS Lines
An IFDC extension guide lists TMS 98/0505, TMS 98/0581, and TMS 30572 beside TME 419 as IITA types resistant to mosaic disease.
Wikifarmer names TMS 98/0581 as Dixon, a stay-green type that keeps its leaves through the dry season.
It also lists Farmer’s Pride, TMS 98/1632, with yields of up to 35 tons per hectare and mosaic resistance.
On my plots, both the TMS stems and TME 419 outyield Nwanyi ocha by a margin I can see at every harvest.
Local Types and Disease
Nwanyi ocha and our other local types fall sick more readily than the improved stems planted beside them.
Mosaic-resistant cassava gave farm yields 40 percent higher than unresistant local types in southwestern Nigeria, IITA’s PROPAS page reports.
In trials in Congo and Cameroon, disease reached about 15 to 20 percent of resistant stands but nearly every susceptible local plant.
Across Africa, farmers lose an estimated 20 to 95 percent of their yields to disease, the same page adds.
Control steps for big plots appear in preventing cassava mosaic virus, with other threats under cassava pests and diseases.
How Long Each Type Takes to Mature
PROPAS reports that resistant elite lines reach peak yields at 12 to 15 months, against 20 to 24 months for unimproved types.
We usually begin harvesting from about eight months, then leave remaining roots in the soil until processing demand returns.
Roots can stay in the ground for over a year when there is no need to process, or when older farms still wait their turn.
When to dig is discussed in the post on signs cassava is ready, with field methods under harvesting cassava roots.
Yellow Vitamin A Cassava
I have never seen yellow cassava growing in Ntigha, so this section relies entirely on published research.
Nigeria released UMUCASS 36, 37, and 38 in 2011, bred by IITA and NRCRI with HarvestPlus funding, IITA reported.
A second set, UMUCASS 44, 45, and 46, followed in 2014 with about 10 parts per million of pro-vitamin A.
Those newer types carry potential yields of 32 to 36 tons per hectare, according to the same IITA announcement.
Wikifarmer also lists Sunshine, TMS 07/0593, as a yellow type with high pro-vitamin A and mosaic resistance.
Choosing Cassava Varieties for Your Farm
- For yield: improved TME and TMS stems clearly outproduce the local types on my plots in Ntigha.
- For disease pressure: pick mosaic-resistant releases, since local types suffer more wherever the virus spreads.
- For processing: high dry matter types return more fufu paste per root, along with more garri and flour.
- For flexible harvesting: types that hold well in the soil past a year let you wait for buyers or labor.
Clean, healthy stems matter as much as the variety name, as the post on sourcing cassava stems describes.
Soil decides results too, so start with testing soil for cassava before buying any new planting material.
The breeding programs behind each release are traced in cassava research and development.
Conclusion
Cassava varieties on my farm fall into two camps: local types like Nwanyi ocha, and improved TME 419 and TMS stems.
The improved stems yield more and resist disease better, which matches IITA findings of 40 percent higher farm yields.
Our roots are ready from about eight months, yet they can stay in the soil past a year when needed.
Yellow vitamin A types exist in Nigeria, but I have never seen them growing around Ntigha.
For questions about planting material or processed cassava, message Cassava Pathway in Ntigha on WhatsApp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cassava variety yields the most in Nigeria?
Improved IITA releases such as TME 419 and TMS lines outyield local types on my farm.
Wikifarmer puts TME 419 near 36 tons per hectare under good growing conditions.
Is TME 419 resistant to mosaic disease?
Yes, IITA improved TME 419 from a Togolese landrace and gave it mosaic disease resistance.
Clean stems still matter, because infected cuttings carry the virus into new plots.
How long before cassava is ready to harvest?
On my farm, cassava is ready from about eight months after planting.
IITA reports resistant lines reach peak yield at 12 to 15 months, while unimproved types take longer.
What is yellow cassava?
Yellow cassava is bred for pro-vitamin A, with Nigerian releases in 2011 and 2014.
The newer UMUCASS 44, 45, and 46 average about 10 parts per million.
Chimeremeze Emeh is a tropical crop farmer and chemical engineer from Ntigha, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia State, Eastern Nigeria, specializing in cassava and palm oil, with over 30 years of hands-on experience growing, harvesting, and processing cassava. He grows TMS series, TME 419, and local traditional varieties on his own farms and operates a small-scale cassava flour and starch production business through Cassava Pathway, which he founded as a CAMA-registered agribusiness in 2024. He is also the founder of Palm Oil Pathway, where he applies the same tropical farming expertise. His farms are located in Ntigha, Abia State.