A Simple Measure of Stem-Cutting Quality for Efficiency
Enhancement of Planting Materials in a Cassava Cultivation

Crop cultivation requires a suitable amount of planting materials, but the quality of those elements in
terms of growth and yield generation is also crucial for total production. Cassava cultivation is generally
propagated from the cutting stems of the last plantation, whose quality varies with the age of the
parental plant, the size of the stem by diameter, and the positional distance of the cutting stem from the
stalk. The existing practice suggests that only half of the entire parental stem is suitable for the new
plantation. This low percentage of stem cutting utilization increased the likelihood of a shortage of
planting materials in cassava production, especially during the cassava mosaic virus outbreak. To
enhance the efficiency of planting material utilization, we studied the possibility of using the volumetric
mass-based character, called volume density (VD) as a measure of stem-cutting quality. The study
assesses the representation of VD based upon sprouting potential, plant growth, and biomass
development. Our study showed that VD has great potential to be a measure of stem-cutting quality in
various aspects. First, VD could reflect growth differentiation cultivated from stem cuttings in varying
positions in the parental stem. Second, VD is able to infer sprouting potential by its positive correlation
with rate of sprouting. Third, VD shows relationship to plant growth and development, for example,
stem length. Fourth, VD can potentially infer plant yield production, though that for root weight is less
clear than aboveground biomass. Fifth, VD assessment has the advantage of being a non-destructive
measurement and a user-friendly approach that could easily fit into the current practice of farmers.
Lastly, VD is simply incorporated into the automatic monitoring system in the precision farming
framework. Overall, this study shows that VD may be an ideal measure of the stem-cutting quality,
which will help to maximize planting material use for cassava production.