Performance of Three Varieties of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Grown in Association with Stylosanthes guianensis (Aublet) Swartz in the Conditions of the Batéké Plateau (City-Province of Kinshasa, DRC)
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Performance of Three Varieties of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Grown in Association with Stylosanthes guianensis (Aublet) Swartz in the Conditions of the Batéké Plateau (City-Province of Kinshasa, DRC). In order to develop a system of direct seeding in a permanent vegetative cover of Stylosanthes guianensis (Aublet) Swartz adapted to the growing conditions of the Batéké plateau, the behavior of improved cassava varieties ZIZILA, TME 419 and BUTAMU was evaluated in sole cropping and in intercropping with Stylo. The trial was conducted from October 2009 to August 2011 in two sites representative of the soil diversity on the plateau. The results demonstrate the existence of a strong competition between the associated crops during the 1st year of cultivation. Yield losses recorded compared to situations of sole cropping ranged on average between 22,6-35% for the biomass of Stylo cut at 8 months in the two trial sites, and amounted to about 50% for cassava harvested at 12 months. Delaying the harvest of cassava to 16 months, with a cutting of the Stylo canopy to form a mulch at the end of the long dry season (8 months after planting), has permitted cassava to reach yields equivalent to the situation of sole cropping. The average yields of fresh cassava roots were significantly lower in the site of Neema (9.7 t.ha-1 at 12 months in sole cropping) compared to those recorded in the site of The Way (12.8 t.ha-1 at 12 months in sole cropping). In each site, no significant difference could be detected for the yields of the compared cassava clones cultivated in pure stand. When harvesting cassava at 12 months, the production of Stylo dry biomass was equivalent at 20 months regardless of the installation mode (sole cropping or intercropping with cassava). The trial did not permit to clearly separate the cassava varieties for their intercropping ability with Stylo. The intercropping of Stylo with cassava is a cost effective method to install a permanent cover in which it is possible to make direct seeding of other crops.
Source: ORBi (University of Liège)
Institution: University of Liège
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
Funder: Wallonie-Bruxelles International
OpenAlex ID: W2230183588