Cassava (Manihot Esculenta Crantz) Mutant Genotype Evaluation for Early Harvest and Yield

The harvesting period of 12 months after planting (MAP) is the major constraint in cassava (Manihot esculenta) cultivation, prompting the need for early-harvest (5-9 MAP) cultivars.Hence, yield potential evaluation of cassava genotypes during the early-harvest period is necessary.This study assesses the yield potential of 18 advanced cassava mutants (M1V8 generation) and five cassava commercial varieties harvested at 7 MAP.The results showed nine mutants yielded above 30.0t ha -1 (ADR-24, GJ-7, GJ-10, GJ-14, GJ-16, ML-18, ML-19, ML-20, and RTM-26), and two mutants (ML-21 and RTM-25) surpassed 40.0 t ha -1 , notably higher than previous early-harvest studies.Despite high yields, the proportion of commercial-size roots is moderately low (4-6 roots/plant).However, selected mutants produced 10-16 total roots/plant, suggesting cultivation adjustments could improve commercial root yield.A positive correlation between production traits indicates that higher commercial-size roots correspond to increased yield potential.Of the 11 promising mutants, five (GJ-10, GJ-14, GJ-16, ML-21, and RTM-26) with low bitterness attained favor for taste.The five mutants are endorsable as early-harvesting, high-yielding, and low HCN-content cassava cultivars.