This work was undertaken with the objetive of evaluating the effect of pruning the aerial part in three distinct times upon the culture of cassava. All treatments were planted in October, 1991. In 1992
For cassava farming, conventional soil preparation is traditionally used. However, in recent years, some producers have been showing interest in adopting no-tillage system. We evaluated the cassava yield in conventional tillage or no-tillage systems with marandu grass straw, as well as the straw decomposition and the physical and chemical soil attributes. A completely randomized design with five treatments and four replicates was used. The treatments were no-tillage (NT 0% - no-grazing pasture; NT 25%, NT 50%, NT 75% - grazing intensities to obtain an intake of 25%, 50% and 75% of forage mass, by animals) and conventional tillage (CT 50% - grazing intensity to obtain an intake of 50% of forage mass, before tillage). The soil tillage did not influence fresh and dry weight of cassava roots, with averages of 31.84 and 10.88 Mg ha-1. After 448 days of cassava planting, straw decomposition did not differ between treatments, with an average value of 53%. The half-life time of straw was 221, 218, 263 and 321 days to treatments NT 0%, NT 25%, NT 50%, NT 75%, respectively. We observed that soil physical quality was improved in no-tillage treatment NT 50%, when compared to CT 50%. The residual straw of Marandu grass did not influence the cassava yield in no-tillage, when compared to conventional tillage. Part of the forage available in the pasture can be used for animal feed, before cassava planting.
Traditional cassava cultivation involves mechanical manipulation of the soil with one plowing and two harrowings, a practice that may generate problems such as soil erosion, compaction and nutrient loss. These issues may be even bigger in sandy soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cassava roots components and the soil physical attributes in planting rows and between planting rows in tillage systems substituting the conventional tillage before the Mombasa grass pasture (Panicum maximum), in Northwestern Paraná, Brazil. Soil tillage treatments in 2014 were carried out as follows: conventional (disc harrow, moldboard plow and disking), minimum (disc harrow and chisel plow - clod breaking) and zero tillage. In 2015, soil samples were collected in layers 0.0-0.1, 0.1-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m deep, between, and within cassava planting rows, for soil bulk density and macroporosity determinations. Number of plants, number of tuberous roots per plant, fresh and dry mass of cassava tuberous roots were evaluated as well. The soil physical attributes within the planting rows negatively affected the production of cassava tuberous roots in zero tillage in succession to the Mombasa grass pasture. The minimum and conventional tillage systems did not present soil physical limitations to the cassava yield components in succession to Mombasa grass pasture. Minimum tillage may be an alternative to conventional tillage without compromising soil physical attributes and cassava root yield in the Mombasa pastureland reform areas, in northwestern Paraná.
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