Leaf-bud Cuttings: Rapid Yam Multiplication Method

Yam leaf-bud cuttings, rapid quality seed production!

Leaf-bud Cuttings is a rapid multiplication method that uses small segments of yam vines, each with one leaf and a bud, to produce mini seed yam plants in nursery beds. With the right shade, watering, and pest management, these vine cuttings root and grow into planting materials in 16-20 weeks. Unlike traditional propagation that uses large, food-grade tubers (200–1000 g), this method uses materials that would otherwise go unused, maximizing resource use. A single mother plant can produce 100–300 new seed plants. For seed entrepreneurs, this means lower input costs, reduced transport and storage challenges, and a faster turnaround for market-ready seed yam. It’s a business-friendly technology ideal for scaling up production and meeting farmer demand.

This technology is pre-validated.

9•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 7/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the IsDB Root and Tuber project.

See project details ›

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

Low Seed Yam Multiplication Rate: Traditional seed yam multiplication is slow, at about 1:3, limiting the volume of planting material available and slowing the commercial scaling of improved yam varieties.
Poor Seed Yam Quality: Repeated recycling of planting materials leads to the accumulation of pests and diseases, while limited quality standards make it difficult to distinguish good-quality from poor-quality seed.
High Seed Yam Requirements and Costs: Traditional production requires large quantities of bulky tubers, with up to 30% of harvested yam reserved for planting and seed accounting for up to 60% of production costs.
Limited Availability of Quality Seed Yam: The lack of dedicated seed yam producers leaves farmers largely dependent on saved seed or leftover planting materials sold by other farmers, constraining the development of reliable seed markets.
Climate Vulnerability of Traditional Seed Production: Traditional double harvesting for seed depends on sufficient rainfall duration, making seed availability vulnerable to shortened or uncertain rainy seasons.

Solution

Rapid Seed Yam Multiplication: Leaf-bud cuttings enable one minituber of less than 10 g to produce 200–300 minitubers within a 7–8 month season, greatly increasing multiplication compared with traditional seed production.
Efficient Use of Planting Material: Seed yams are produced from vine cuttings rather than relying on large food-grade tubers, reducing the quantity of harvested yam required for seed production.
Quality Seed Production: Starting with healthy planting materials and following recommended production procedures supports the production of quality seed yams and reduces the risks associated with repeatedly recycled seed.
Accessible Seed Production Method: The technique does not require advanced skills or high capital investment, with a screen or shade house as the main infrastructure and relatively few production inputs required.
Seed Business Opportunity: Rapid multiplication and relatively accessible production requirements enable dedicated seed producers to expand the supply of quality seed yam and serve growing seed markets.

Key points to design your business plan

The Leaf-bud Cutting (LBC) technology offers a commercially viable, high-return alternative to conventional yam seed systems. By multiplying yam from vine segments at a rate of 1:300, compared to 1:3 using tubers, LBC drastically reduces the volume of seed tubers required—freeing up more of the harvest for the food market. This lowers seed production costs by up to 60%, opens up a scalable agribusiness opportunity, and ensures clean, uniform planting material free of soil-borne pests. With minimal infrastructure needs, LBC enables seed companies, aggregators, and agri-startups to rapidly scale up quality seed yam supply, increase farmer adoption of improved varieties, and grow their footprint in the high-demand yam value chain.

To integrate this technology into your agribusiness model, consider the following key steps:

Assess Market Demand: Estimate demand for seed yam across production zones and calculate supply targets.
Develop Propagation Sites: Set up cost-effective nurseries or partner with local outgrowers for decentralized propagation.
Upskill Technical Teams: Train staff in vine cutting and nursery management to ensure quality control and reduce losses.
Build Demand through Communication: Use print, radio, and demo plots to show farmers the economic benefits of LBC-derived seed yam.
Secure Partnerships: Collaborate with IITA to ensure access to elite yam varieties and technical backstopping.

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

This group is also curious and follows up to see the outcome of the technology. Most of them have a good understanding of yam production and have practised it using tubers, as in the traditional system. Some have collected vines to try out, and others have followed the entire process at the research station or with partners who are practising. Many are eager to produce on a large scale.

The poor: Positive medium

The primary impact on people in this category is through the provision of labour to those who practice the technology.

Under 18: Positive medium

This group is curious and wants to find out if it is possible to produce yams from vines. They lack extensive farming experience, are eager to learn, but lack the resources to establish seed production units.

Women: Positive high

Where the technology is used, more women than men are usually engaged in preparing the LBCs because they are more patient and careful in handling the vines to avoid damage. Some women's groups have shown a strong interest in starting small-scale production. Training and vines will be provided for them to start this season.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

The technology works well in all regions where yam is cultivated, specifically where temperatures range from 22 to 30 °C and rainfall is between 1,000 and 1,400 mm per year. However, due to the short crop duration, the technology will work with less rainfall. Additionally, it works well in controlled conditions where temperature and water supply are regulated.

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

With seed yam production using LBCs, more seed is produced in a limited area, with potential environmental benefits. The risk of not having seed from a second harvest of a food yam crop due to a shortened rainy season is eliminated.

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

In traditional yam cultivation, trees are cut down to provide stakes for the plants. With the LBC technology, the use of trellis, which significantly reduces the quantity of stakes required, is promoted.

Water use: A bit less water used

The traditional method of seed production is completely rainfed. With the LBCs, although water must be applied during the first two weeks of planting, the crop duration is shorter (4-5 months instead of 7-10 months in traditional systems).

Soil quality: Not yet estimated

When organic mulch, such as fermented rice husk, is used, soil improvement occurs; however, the magnitude of this impact has not been evaluated.

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Countries	Beneficiaries	Budget (USD) & duration	Key figures
IsDB Root and Tuber IsDB Root and Tuber Value Chains Development Project	Benin	Direct: 150,000 Indirect: 1,000,000	550.000 2021-2026	20 municipalities targeted Rural roads constructed Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) complexes established

Project

Countries

Beneficiaries

Budget (USD) & duration

Key figures

IsDB Root and Tuber
IsDB Root and Tuber Value Chains Development Project

Benin

Direct: 150,000
Indirect: 1,000,000

550.000

2021-2026

20 municipalities targeted
Rural roads constructed
Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) complexes established

Figures in italic are from project plans and may change during implementation.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid	–	–	–	–
Semiarid	–	–	–	–
Subhumid				–
Humid				–

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

The technology enhances the production and productivity of yam seeds, leading to increased yam yields and more food.

Goal 5: gender equality

In scaling the technology, women and youths are targeted because they can fit easily into the niche of seed production, which is simple and does not require much capital, especially land.

Goal 1: no poverty

Its increases yam production and food availability.

Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

Its promotes efficient use of planting material and reduces waste.

Source quality planting materials, which are minitubers of less than 10 g (preferably 2-5 g) or plantlets from a reputable breeder, foundation, or certified seed source.
Plant seeds in a suitable substrate in a screen house.
Apply water and nutrients as necessary.
Stake plants individually to ease vine harvest and the preparation of cuttings.
At 10-12 weeks after planting, cut vines from mother plants, leaving 2-3 nodes at the base of the mother plant.
Immerse the cut vine in clean water in a basin.
Prepare a fungicide solution in another basin: 2 g of a broad-spectrum fungicide, such as Mancozeb (80%), in 1 L of water. Mix thoroughly.
Remove the previously cut vine from the water and detangle the vines carefully to avoid damage to leaves and buds.
Make clean cuts through the stem, with each LBC containing one bud, one leaf and a 1 cm stem piece on either side of the node.
Dip the LBCs in the fungicide for 10 minutes. During this process, ensure that basic personal protective measures are observed by using plastic hand gloves and a nose mask.
Remove the cuttings and plant immediately in a moist substrate in containers in the screen house or on beds in the field.
For field planting, prepare beds with a width of 1-1.2 m and a length of your convenience. Apply an organic mulch such as fermented rice husk if available.
Provide adequate shade before planting in the field.
After planting, apply water to ensure that the leaves of the cuttings stay turgid, especially during the first two weeks. With proper care, rooting typically begins about eight days after planting. Continue watering if there is irregular rainfall and if planting is done in a screen house.
Remove the shade from the field crop when plants have produced shoots with 3-5 leaves, about six weeks after planting.
Stake plants at the 5- to 10-leaf stage.
Fertiliser application will depend on the soil fertility status. Generally, NPK 15:15:15 is recommended.
From the 2–3 nodes left on the mother plants, new vines will grow. Once they develop, repeat the process of leaf bud cutting preparation and planting.
Harvest the crop carefully at 4-5 months after planting or at the time of senescence.
Sort out any diseased tubers.
Treat the healthy tubers in a mixture of fungicide and insecticide and spread them out to dry.
Store the seeds in a cool, well-ventilated place with high relative humidity to reduce dehydration.

Downloads

Rapid propagation of yam using leaf-bud cuttings - A manual Copy_compressed.pdf (PDF, 1.67 MB)
A Breakthrough in Yam Multiplication Using Leaf-bud Cuttings.pdf (PDF, 1.26 MB)
LBC Flyers.pdf (PDF, 1.67 MB)
LBC Presentation.pdf (PDF, 1.51 MB)
PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCING AND USING LEAF-BUD CUTTINGS (LBCs).pdf (PDF, 407.35 KB)

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Beatrice Aighewi

Commodities

Yam

Sustainable Development Goals Details ›

public.components.sdgs.motre

Subcategory

Seed system

Value chain step

Pre-production

Solution to

Pests & Diseases Limited Access to Inputs & Services

Best used with

Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics for yam multiplication

Tested/adopted in Details ›

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Where it can be used Details ›

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones.

Target groups

Farmers Seed companies Researcher center Cooperatives and Agribusinesses

Leaf-bud Cuttings: Rapid Yam Multiplication Method

Project adoption1

IP

Problem

Solution

Key points to design your business plan