ABSTRACT
Cassava for industrial uses Kuakoon Piyachomkwan and Sittichoke Wanlapatit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand; and Klanarong Sriroth, Kasetsart University, Thailand
1 Introduction
2 Cassava root composition
3 Cassava chips
4 Cassava starch: production and properties
5 Cassava starch: products
6 Cassava starch: industrial applications
7 Summary
8 Where to look for further information
9 References
Cassava is a shrubby perennial crop which produces underground edible roots rich in starch. The crop is extensively grown in tropical and subtropical areas including Latin America, Africa and Asia. Total root production was about 270 million tons in 2014 (www. faostat.fao.org). In the past, cassava was recognized as ‘food for the poor’ because the crop had been cultivated and utilized mainly as the staple food for human consumption in cassava-growing areas of many developing countries. In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced that cassava had emerged as a multipurpose crop for the twenty-first century, responding to the priorities of developing countries, to trends in the global economy and to the challenge of climate change. This is because:
• Cassava has a good tolerance to poor growing environments, for example drought, infertile soil, pests and insects. The crop can still produce reasonable yields, using few if any inputs under poor growing conditions. Nevertheless, cassava also responds well to better cultivation practices including soil management, irrigation, fertilizer application and higher-yielding varieties. In some situations, cassava responds well to irrigation, but the crop is rarely irrigated, except extensively in southern India and in few other localized regions.
