Abstract
ABSTRACT Cassava has a high yield potential that can be achieved with adequate liming and fertilization of the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic fertilizer application, in association or not with liming, on yield and morphological characteristics of cassava roots and on chemical and physical properties of the soil. The experiment was arranged in the split plot design. The plots corresponded to limestone rates (0 and 2.5 t ha-1) and the sub-plots to chicken manure rates (0, 4, 8, and 12 t ha-1). Yield showed no response to limestone application, but responded to manure, producing 43 t ha-1 of roots at the rate of 8 t ha-1. The treatments had no influence on soil density and total porosity. The addition of manure increased the concentrations of P and K, while the addition of limestone increased Ca and Mg in the soil. The pH was affected only by limestone. Therefore, limestone does not affect crop yield and soil physical properties up to the amount used. Use of chicken manure up to 8 t ha-1 increased yield. Limestone and manure affect soil fertility in different ways.
Highlights
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) crop has great importance in the tropics because it is a readily available food, easy to grow, with high capacity of transformation, and can be stored as food for several years (Nassar et al, 2009)
No interaction was found between limestone application and chicken manure rates for any of the soil evaluated properties
There was no difference between the treatments with and without limestone, and the results for total yield, commercial yield, length, diameter, and individual fresh root mass were 39.9 t ha-1, 35.6 t ha-1, 24.8 cm, 4.8 cm, and 410.4 g, respectively
Summary
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) crop has great importance in the tropics because it is a readily available food, easy to grow, with high capacity of transformation, and can be stored as food for several years (Nassar et al, 2009). It is a species native to Brazil (Valle, 2005) and is cultivated in all states of the country (IBGE, 2017). Due to its high yields, the crop extracts a large quantity of nutrients from the soil (Ternes, 2002), the adequate amounts of nutrients is essential for cassava to express its yield potential. The response of cassava to fertilization varies according to the soil fertility. The crop responds well to fertilization when cultivated on low fertility soils, while it may not present increase in yield with the application of fertilizers to an already medium to high fertility soil (Lorenzi, 2003)
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