Dry matter and micronutrients accumulation in cassava intercropped with banana tree

Abstract

Cassava is an important intercropping plant. However, there is little information on its dry matter accumulation and partitioning, as well as micronutrient demand, when it is intercropped with fruit trees. The study was conducted in Januária, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in 2010-2011, aiming at evaluating the dry matter and micronutrients accumulation in cassava intercropped with irrigated banana tree. A randomized blocks design, with four replications, was used, with treatments consisting of 14 sampling periods, from sowing to harvest. At each sampling period, plants were classified as shoots (stems and leaves) and roots, for determining their dry matter and contents of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn. The dry matter and micronutrients accumulation fitted a sigmoidal growth pattern. The shoot dry matter accumulation increased up to 200 days after planting (DAP), stabilizing thereafter up to the end of the crop cycle. For roots, the dry matter accumulation was continuous up to the end of the cycle. From 250 DAP, roots became the main dry matter accumulation organ. Micronutrients accumulation in cassava plants occured in the following order: Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu. It was concluded that the cultivation of cassava intercropped with banana tree is viable, provided there is a proper availability of micronutrients required by plants.