Response of cassava to irrigation under pure and mixed stands

Abstract

Afield experiment was conducted for two consecutive years in the sandy loam soil of the Agronomic Research Station, Chalakudy to study the effect of different irrigation schedules (0.3, 0.6 and 09 IW/CPE ratios) on the growth and yield of cassava under pure and mixed stands (cassava (M 4) alone and cassava intercropped with groundnut (TMV 2), cowpea (V 16), greengram (ML 26), and blackgram (T 9). It was revealed that under shallow water table conditions cassava requires irrigation only at IW/CPE ratio of 0.3 (approximately once in 37 days in the dry period) both under pure and mixed stands. It was also observed that cultivation of intercrops viz., greengram, cowpea, blackgram and groundnut gave additional income from the same piece of land without adversely affecting the yield of cassava.