The Nutritive Value of Cassava Leaf Meal

CASSAVA (Manihot esculenta Crantz = M. utilissima Pohl) is grown extensively throughout the tropical world primarily for its starch-bearing roots. However, Jones (1959) reports that in some parts of Africa the leaves of certain varieties of cassava are used regularly as boiled vegetables. Echandi (1952) fed gently heated and powdered cassava leaves to beef heifers and reported them to be a suitable substitute for alfalfa meal. On the other hand, Rogers and Milner (1963) reported that rats rejected rations containing lyophilized cassava leaves that supplied 10 or 15 percent protein in the ration. This report deals with studies designed to evaluate cassava leaf meal as a supplement in chick rations. MATERIALS AND METHODS The cassava leaf material used in this study was derived from a sweet clonal variety obtained initially from Central America.3 The leaf meal used in Experiments 1 and 2 was prepared from leaves collected from 11–15…