摘要
Cassava （Manihot esculenta Crantz） is a perennial woody shrub with an edible root, which grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In Africa, cassava provides a basic daily source of dietary energy. It plays an important role in food security and incomes of many rural households in the southern Ethiopia. However, information available on production practices of cassava for the region is insufficient. Hence, field experiment was conducted at Awassa Agricultural Research Center for two successive cropping seasons from 2004 to 2006 to investigate the response of cassava to planting position and planting material. The treatments used were three planting positions （slant, vertical and horizontal） and five planting materials （main stem top part, main stem middle part, main stem bottom part, branch stake top part and branch stake bottom part） were combined in factorial arrangement and laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. The result revealed that root yield was significantly （P 〈 0.05） affected by the interaction effects of the planting position and planting material. The highest yield （25.2 ton ha^-1） was obtained from the main stem top part planted in slant position whereas the least yield （6.5 ton ha^-1） was obtained from main stem bottom part planted in horizontal position. Based on the findings of this study, areas like Awassa with moderate rainfall slant and vertical planting of main stem top and middle parts could be used as planting material.
