Storage root of cassava: Morphological types, anatomy, formation, growth, development and harvest time

Authors: CARVALHO, LUIZ - Embrapa Genetic Resources; FILHO, JOSEFINO - Embrapa; Anderson, James; FIGUEIREDO, PRICILA - Chinese Academy Of Tropical Agricultural Sciences; CHEN, SONGBI - Chinese Academy Of Tropical Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/28/2017
Publication Date: 1/17/2018
Citation: Carvalho, L.J.C.B., Filho, J.F., Anderson, J.V., Figueiredo, P.G., Chen, S. 2018. Storage root of cassava: Morphological types, anatomy, formation, growth, development and harvest time. In: Waisundara, V., editor. Cassava. Rijeka, Croatia. InTech. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71347.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71347

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) is considered a starchy root crop that provides staple food for millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Research efforts are directed towards genetic breeding and cultivation of cassava to improve cassava storage root starch production, nutritional values, and industrial utilization. Cassava storage root (CSR) is a vegetative storage plant organ with indeterminate type of growth that has a central cylinder (edible part) originated by the swelling of primary root and crown roots. Comprehensive studies on thickened primary root (secondary growth) are rare, incomplete and, to a certain extent, missing. In this chapter, we review and forward studies that move our knowledge on CSR. CSR generally forms up to 12-14 storage root (SR) per plant, which can originate from three sources of propagating plant materials as well as being induced in vivo and in vitro. Knowledge on CSR include types (morphological definitions), physiology, tissue anatomy/histology (secondary growth), chemical composition of the edible part, biochemical features, gene expression and proteomics as secondary growth proceeds that are of major importance to breed cassava plants for agriculture utilization. Storage root morphology varies in shape from cylindrical to globular. Time to initiation of storage root formation varies from 45 to 90 days after planting (DAP), depending on the leaf axillary bud position in the vegetative propagating material at the plant source. Storage root growth, starch accumulation and nutrient contents are largely dependent on genotypes. Storage root anatomy can be identified by eight characteristics common to a root with secondary growth and starch reserve variants. Histological characterizations can be used to identify cell types of primary and secondary meristems, procambium, vascular cambium, phellogen, phelloderm, primary and secondary xylem and phloem, storage parenchyma and sclerenchyma. Three types of meristematic cell differentiations occur as secondary growth proceeds; one due to cork cambium with plane perpendicularly oriented cell division, a second due to plane longitudinally oriented cell division in the root apex, and a third longitudinally oriented in the epidermal cells. Chemical composition of the storage root varies in the central cylinder (edible part) depending on the sample position in the root and the plant genotype. Therefore, biochemical characteristics are known to change with tissue age as secondary growth proceeds. Moreover, the composition of stored starch varies with tissue age across the central cylinder and may be used as a physiological indicator for bulk storage root maturation and storage root harvest time.