Divisi
How to grow Yam
Dioscorea rotundata · Dioscoreaceae
Photo: Starheroine · CC BY-SA 4.0
Yam is a climbing vine that grows one big food tuber underground over a long 7-11 month season. You don't plant a seed from a packet: you plant a piece of a yam tuber (a 'sett'), which sprouts a vine that must climb a tall stake to feed the new tuber below. It is a hungry crop that rewards deep, rich, well-drained soil, clean planting material, and patient hands. Grown right, the tubers you dig will keep in a barn and feed your family right through the dry season. This guide covers white Guinea yam, water yam and yellow yam together; where they differ (water yam needs staking less), it says so.
Isaacayodele32 · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Dorcas Atule · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Days to maturity
- 180–330 days
- Row spacing
- 100 cm
- Plant spacing in the row
- 100 cm
- Sowing depth
- 10–15 cm
These are general figures for the crop, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. The right choice for your field depends on your soil, rainfall and the yield you are aiming for.
Will yam actually do well on your land? Check your field against every crop in the catalogue — free, no signup. Run the free crop check →
Other names for Yam
bayerɛ · yam · white yam · water yam · igname · doya · ji · inhame · kiazi kikuu · isu
Working in buckets, bags or paces? The farming glossary turns the measures growers actually use into kilograms and hectares — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, and how to size a field by walking it — alongside the Shona, Swahili, Ndebele and Yoruba words used in the field. Open the glossary →
Growing yam, stage by stage
Your yam season from mound to barn: plant clean tuber pieces on big soft mounds, stake the climbing vines high, weed and feed them through the long climb, then dig the tubers gently and cure and store them so they keep through the dry season.
- Get your land, setts and mounds ready
- Plant the setts and get them sprouting
- Vines climb - weed and feed
- Fill the tuber (bulking)
- The tuber matures
- Dig the tubers carefully
- Cure and store in the barn
17 step-by-step tasks in the app
Every task for yam — what to do, when to do it and why it matters — with the amounts worked out for your own field, reminders as each one falls due, and warnings before extreme weather.
Pests and diseases that attack yam
2 more threats tracked in the app
Divisi tells you which of these is a risk on your yam right now, when to walk the field looking for it, and what to do the moment you find it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does yam take to grow?
Yam takes about 180–330 days from sowing to maturity, though the exact length varies with variety, temperature and how the season runs.
What spacing should I use for yam?
Space yam rows about 100 cm apart, with roughly 100 cm between plants within the row.
How deep should yam be planted?
Sow yam at about 10–15 cm deep. Shallower risks drying out; deeper wastes seed energy before the shoot reaches light.
What pests and diseases attack yam?
The ones covered in this guide are Tuber rots, Yam anthracnose, Yam beetle. Each has its own page explaining how to identify, scout for and control it.
Grow yam with a plan, not a guess
Divisi turns this guide into a dated plan for your own field — what to do each week, reminders as tasks fall due, and warnings before extreme weather. Free for farmers, works offline.
Or check your field first