Abstract

This study evaluated the water-absorption capacity after boiling and the texture of cassava in two populations derived from the cross between Hanatee variety (HNT) and C33 variety, totaling 146 samples. The population consisted of 121 plants from the cross C33 × HNT (63-7) and 25 plants from the cross HNT × C33 (63-8). The objective of this study was to select lines with desirable cooking quality, similar to Hanatee variety. The varieties HNT, C33, and HB90 were used as check varieties. The water-absorption capacity was evaluated after 30 minutes of boiling, as the percentage of weight increase was calculated. Texture evaluation was conducted using a fork to assess post-boiling firmness on a 1-to-5 scale, where 1 indicates very soft and 5 indicates very firm. Each sample was tested in two replicates, and the average value was used for analysis. The results revealed significant differences in water-absorption capacity among the check varieties: HNT (13.66%), C33 (3.14%), and HB90 (2.82%). Four cassava lines exhibited higher water-absorption capacities than Hanatee variety: 63-7-63 (15.36%), 63-7-46 (25.39%), 63-8-45 (14.35%), and 63-8-42 (14.66%). Additionally, these lines demonstrated lower texture scores (indicating softer texture) when tested with a fork compared to Hanatee variety. A linear relationship was observed between water-absorption capacity and texture score, with a negative correlation and coefficients of determination (R²) of 0.43 and 0.72 in the two populations.