Soil conserving techniques in cassava and yam production
1984
Vine, P.N. | Ajayi, O.B. | Mitchozounou, D.M. | Hounkpatin, E.J. | Hounkpevi, T. (University of Ibadan (Nigeria). Dept. of Agronomy)
In the belief that conventional land preparation for root crops accelerates soil erosion unnecessarily, we investigated the potential of some soil conserving practices in the production of cassava and yam in Nigeria. We studied dry season planting of cassava to hasten canopy development to protect the soil during the subsequent rainy season and we examined the effects of mulching and tillage on both cassava and yams. In both the dry and the wet seasons, mulch aided cassava growth in some circumstances but not in others; however, it increased wet season earthworm activity manyfold and reduced splash erosion. Other findings in the series of studies were that planting cassava stakes on a slant is suitable for both tilled and untilled plots and that the hardness of the soil does not appreciably affect the ease with which cassava roots can be pulled from the ground.
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