Potential Of Cassava Utilized As A Windbreak And Cash Crop With Cavendish Banana Receiving Varying Levels Of Nematicides And Fertilizers

Local brown stick cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) provided adequate windbreak effect and gave good yields when grown with Cavendish Banana in a modified inter-crop system. Cassava cuttings were planted at an equidistance of 1.22m between pairs of banana plants that were spaced 1.8m apart. Best yields were obtained from cassava growing between banana receiving either poultry manure (5.5 kg/mat) or cattle manure (4 kg/mat). Manure and 10.10.10 treated bananas had the next best influence on cassava root production followed by Ammonium sulphate (4.2 kgms/mat). Of the nematicide treatments on banana Mocap 10%G (112 g/mat/6 months) had the best effect on cassava yields. Most other nematicide treatments and Diazinon 2E drenches did not significantly increase yields of cassava over control. In its seven months of growth, cassava crop required a total of 33 man hours/.11 ha and yielded an average of 8,000 kg/ha with a net return of $3,302/ha. Since production costs were shared between cassava and banana the cost of producing each was relatively low as opposed to separate production systems.