Relationship between Major Chemical Constituents and Growth Characters in Cassava

This study was conducted to investigate the changes of major chemical constituents in sweet and bitter varieties of cassava by developmental phases, and to determine the relationship of major chemical constituents with growth characters in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. The hydrocyanic acid of leaves (HCNL) and roots (HCNR) began to decrease from 5 and 3 months after planting, respectively, except for Pucuk Biru. Gading was considered to be sweet with 5.8 mg HCNR/100 g fresh weight, while Adira1 seemed to be intermediate, showing 17.0 mg HCNR/100 g fresh weight, at the harvest time. Gading and Adira1 were considered as early-maturing varieties from the standpoint of starch accumulation and crude protein content was negatively correlated (r = -0.94) with the plant age in all varieties. The correlation coefficient between HCNL and HCNR was relatively high (r = 0.639), and the HCNR was highly affected by number of leaves, dry weight of leaves, leaf area duration, and leaf area index during growing period.