A LESSON ABOUT ON PLANTING YAMS / AMAYUNI

 

                                      .                    Yam plants

PLANT DESCRIPTION:

Yams are a very ancient food plant, believed to have been cultivated for more than 12,000 years. They are twining vines with shiny, heart-shaped, purple-tinged leaves and grow from underground tubers which have a brown skin and white flesh and can weigh many kilos. Yams require a fertile, well-drained soil with a high organic matter content. Plant at the beginning of summer in areas that receive a wet season. They will grow in full sun or semi-shade but need a trellis. Plants need plenty of water during the growing season.

Dioscoreaceae, consisting of more than 800 species of climbing vines and woody shrubs. Many members of the yam family produce subterranean tubers or tuberous stems, and have heart-shaped leaves, small green or white flowers, and a fruit that is a winged capsule or berry. Yams are distributed widely throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world, though current geographic distribution has almost certainly been influenced by human translocations. Today yams are widely used as an important food staple and as a fallback food in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Pacific islands, and South America.

In 2007, worldwide yam production totaled 52 million t, of which Africa produced 96 %, most of which derived from West Africa, with Nigeria alone producing 71 % of that total (IITA 2009). Yams are a good source of dietary fiber and are rich in carbohydrates, vitamin C, and essential minerals.