What is the Yam Minisett Technique?
The yam minisett technique is a way to get healthy yam planting materials in commercial quantities. This solves the problem of availability due to the competition. It also makes quality yam planting materials available. In this case, there will be enough yam to eat and to plant.
Farmers can also make a business solely from the production of yam minisett. It is lucrative.
Read also: Vegetable Seedling Nursery Establishment and Management
Why yam minisett technique?
Farmers face an annual challenge of yam planting material shortages. And if they are available, quality is the other problem. As I said above, this is mainly because of the competition between yam for food and for planting.
And so, it is important I share the Yam minisett technique with you. To avoid eating what you have to plant and vise versa.
Read also: How to get more cassava sticks in 7 simple steps; Rapid multiplication of cassava
Follow these simple steps to get your healthy yam materials.
| 1 |  | Select clean, disease-free healthy mother seed yam (500gms) (Minisetts (small pieces of yam) prepared from ware yams sprout late and uneven) Select tubers immediately after dormancy is broken (2-3 months after harvesting) |
| 2 |  | Clean mother seed yam and cut into minisetts (50-100gms). Minisetts that weigh up to 150gms, produce milked yams weighing above 1kg. A mother seed yam of 500gms can produce 15-20 minisetts. Ensure that each piece has a skin or periderm. |
| 3 |  |
Treat minisetts with broad-spectrum fungicide, insecticide and wood ash.
Wear gloves to protect the hands when treating with fungicides. This treatment is necessary to protect minisetts against fungi and bacteria.
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| 4 |  | Spread treated minisetts under shade for 1-2 hours to air-dry the surfaces. Do not expose directly to the sun. |
| 5 |  | Pre-sprout minisetts in 1-meter wide nursery beds or in baskets with moist sawdust or plant in-situ Pre-sprouted minisetts give good plant establishment in the field after transplanting |
| 6 |  | Transplant pre-sprouted minisetts after 1 month into the field. Plant at a spacing of 25cm on ridges. Plant at a depth of 5-7cm below the soil. |
| 7 |  | Stake using the trellis system. |
| 8 |  | Harvest milked yam 4 months after transplanting Take care not to damage seedlings at harvest. |
| 9 |  | Harvest seed tuber 5-6 months after transplanting Avoid bruising and damage during harvesting and transporting. |
For further reading: Training guide on Yam Minisett Technique by the National Advisory Board on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction and Vanuatu Department of Meteorology and Geo-Hazards in cooperation with SPC/GIZ Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region with funding support from the EU Global Climate Change Alliance.
