Cultivation of Cassava (Manihot Esculentus C.) With Selected Legumes for Growth, Yield and Economic Advantages as Climate Change Mitigations

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculentus Crantz.) is a monoecious perennial shrub that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtr++=opical regions for its edible, starchy, tuberous roots. It is ideal for intercropping with short-duration crops, which are often harvested before the cassava canopy closes. Thus, intercropping cassava, especially with legumes, is an important way for poor farmers to provide additional crop yield during the early growth stage. Moreover, the incorporation of legumes into cassava-based cropping systems may offer one of the most feasible ways of enhancing protein intake and nutritional security of farming households. Accordingly, a 1-year field study on cassava intercropped with three legumes (haricot bean, mung bean, and soybean) in southern Ethiopia was conducted to determine the effect of intercropping on the growth, yield, and economic advantage of the cassava. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results revealed that there were significant (P<0.05) differences for cassava plant height, leaf number, stem width, number of storage roots per plant, storage root weight, dry matter, and root yield due to cassava legume intercropping. Cassava- haricot bean intercropping increased root yield by 28% as compared to cassava-mung bean (21%), and cassava-soybean (18 %), respectively. And it can improve land-use efficiency by 31% as compared to cassava-soybean and cassava-mung bean intercropping. The partial budget analysis also revealed that cassava planted with haricot bean gave the highest economic benefit of 199,250 Birr ha-1. Further researches on relative planting time of legumes with cassava and soil fertility variation under sole cassava and intercropping systems are important for improving productivity of growers under the study area.