Título en español.

A field experiment was conducted on a Coto clay, an Oxisol, to compare the effect of planting cassava cuttings vertically with a section above ground or horizontally underground and of removing the epidermis (ringing) of the cuttings at either the basal or terminal end, or at the middle, and some combinations of these treatments. The experiment followed a randomized complete block layout with eight treatments and four replications. Data obtained from an 8-month-old cassava crop reveal no significant differences in edible root yields when planted either vertically with a section above ground or horizontally underground. Removing rings of the epidermis did not affect yields significantly. Mean height of plants from cuttings planted vertically without rings was significantly higher than that of plants from cuttings set horizontally with rings at both ends. No significant differences in top-to-root ratios were attributable to treatment. Counts and observations of cuttings grown on sand beds under greenhouse conditions indicate that, contrary to the generally accepted belief, roots are produced more abundantly from calluses formed at the basal area where the incision is made at cutting than at nodes below ground level. Irrespective of treatments, overall yields were more than twice those obtained in subsistence and commercial farming. This can be attributed to the use of a high yielding cultivar and sound soil and crop management practices.