Article
Article
Cassava
Article By:
Martin, Franklin W. Mayaguez Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Thurston, H. David Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.112200
The plant Manihot esculenta (family Euphorbiaceae), also called manioc, grown for its starchy, edible tuberous roots. Cassava is one of the most vital food plants in the world, especially in developing countries and the most important starchy root or tuber of the tropics. It originated in Central America or South America, possibly Brazil and was domesticated and widely distributed well before the time of Columbus. Subsequent distribution has established cassava as a major crop in eastern and western Africa, in India and in Southeast Asia. Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the largest producers of cassava. See also: Domestication (anthropology); Horticultural crops; Malpighiales; Starch
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