Cocoyam is one of the most common crops we plant down here, and although it isn't as popular as yam, recently it's been used as an alternative to yam given the high increase in the price of yam. I was lucky to have decided to plant some a few months ago, and I'm thrilled to see it grow to this level. Planting the cocoyam to germinate wasn't an easy task, and I face some challenges that I want to share with you.
At the time of planting, I was ambitious that the crop would yield well, so I prepared a huge space for the plantation and started planting the tubers from the waste of the cocoyam I planted earlier; however, despite planting loads of the tubers, only about 5 pieces germinated while the other of over 30 didn't. I was disappointed, but after talking to a friend, he told me planting in stems is the best method to growing cocoyam, and so I purchased several stems.
And fortunately for me, most of them germinated within a week of planting the stem, all thanks to a regular rain fall at the time, and so was the soil favorable to, as it was the new extended portion of my farmland that I haven't used for planting in a while, so the good soil coupled with a regular rainfall aids the growth of the cocoyam because it's a crop that requires a well-drained soil that's as well fertile.
Although the initial issue I had with planting and germination of the tuber didn't work, the other challenge was relating to pests. I had to get several pest control companies and stray the farmland because initially some pests were feeding on the cocoyam, and that was evidence on the leaf, but since praying, everything has been going pretty well.
And the only difficulty is a regular need to weed the surrounding area of the cocoyam; weeding regularly will let the weed grow and share the same nutrients with the cocoyam and ultimately hinder the swift growth of the cocoyam. Well, at the moment, my cocoyam crops are doing well, and as you can see, most of them are in good shape, although from afar you'll notice it's somewhat scanty. That's because of the issue I had with pest earlier.
Thanks so much for your time, have a wonderful day and stay bless.