AGROSAVIA and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT implemented a tunnel system for the large-scale production of high-quality cassava planting material in the Colombian humid Caribbean

• Implementation of a tunnel system for the large-scale production of high-quality cassava planting material.

• The first tunnels were established at the Turipaná Research Center and the El Carmen de Bolívar station.

• All these efforts are focused on providing high-quality planting material to cassava producers.

 

Montería, Córdoba. December 5, 2025. With support from the Plan Yuca País project, Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT implemented a tunnel system for the large-scale production of high-quality cassava planting material of the industrial cassava varieties Corpoica Belloti, Corpoica Ropain, Corpoica Tai, and Corpoica Sinuana. These varieties are part of AGROSAVIA’s technological portfolio in the humid Caribbean region of Colombia.

The first tunnels were established at the Turipaná Research Center and the El Carmen de Bolívar site. Among the most relevant results, the following stand out:

• Climatic variables such as temperature and relative humidity inside the tunnels can be effectively modulated—particularly through mist irrigation systems—to create optimal conditions that stimulate rapid sprouting and accelerated growth of cassava cuttings.
• The ideal planting material for tunnel establishment corresponds to mini-stakes with 3 nodes, aged 7–9 months, obtained from certified field-generated material.
• Under the multiplication tunnel conditions, the propagation rate increases, as it is possible to perform five rounds of cutting harvests with waiting periods of 40–45 days.
• The cassava varieties used are part of the technological offering developed for cassava producers in the Caribbean region. The good performance of these varieties under tunnel conditions demonstrates the potential of this technology for seed renewal.
• High-quality cuttings (>20 mm diameter and >6 leaves) were consistently produced every 40–45 days for seedling propagation.
• The propagation rate progressively increased throughout the cycles, rising from more than 60 cuttings/m² to over 180 cuttings/m² in the fifth cycle.
• The physical conditions of the substrate used during the rooting phase are a key factor for the success of this propagation methodology. The inclusion of local by-products such as vermicompost, coconut peat, and sand reduces soil compaction and promotes rooting of the cuttings.

“All these efforts highlight the potential of tunnel-based systems to accelerate the propagation of high-quality cassava planting material, improving propagation speed, reducing sprouting time, and ultimately providing superior planting material for both farmers and industry stakeholders,” stated Jazmín Vanessa Pérez Pazos, biologist and Research Support Professional at the Turipaná Research Center.

Among the bibliographic material generated from this process, a scientific article was recently published titled ‘Implementation of a Tunnel System for Scaling-Out High-Quality Cassava Planting Material’ in the journal Plants (Q1), in the special section Genetic Breeding of Cassava from the MDPI publishing house. According to Ph.D. Researcher Amparo Rosero, “collaborative efforts among research institutions allowed to develop technologies adapted to different environmental conditions, in addition to generating knowledge that contributes to global strategies for producing quality seed in vegetatively propagated crops.”

There is also a manual with the title: ‘Techniques for the Rapid Multiplication of High-Quality Cassava Seed.’ This manual describes the process of obtaining quality seed from indexing through the certified seed category, according to current regulations of Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), detailing the step-by-step production scheme in multiplication tunnels and the conventional alternative.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, you can consult these publications below:

• Article: Implementation of a Tunnel System for Scaling-Out High-Quality Cassava Planting Material.
• Manual: Técnicas de multiplicación rápida de semilla de yuca de alta calidad.
• Presentations: El sistema de los túneles
• La macropropagación y el sistema de los túneles.