Zur Abhängigkeit des Nagerbefalls vom HCN-Gehalt der Knollen von Manihot esculenta Crantz

Abstract

Studies on rodents damage in relation to Cyanogenic Glucosides content in tubers of Manihot esculenta Crantz

Rodents are the major pests of Cassava(Manihot esculenta) and inflict heavy losses in the field. In order to explore the possibilities of controlling rodents by developing resistant varieties in relation to HCN content studies were undertaken at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Trivandrum. In total 7 varieties were studied for extent of damage and tuber characters. The studies indicated that varieties, such as Ce 178, Ce 281 and Ce 96 having minimum concentration of HCN in rind were highly susceptible to rodent attack and were preferred over varieties, such as Ce 432 and Ce ll9, having higher concentration of HCN in the rind. Thus there is ample scope for evolving a cassava variety with higher concentration of cyanogenic glucosides in the rind and negligible quantities in the flesh to ward off heavy rodent attack, in the field.