Aftereffects of Cultural Intercroppings of Maize or Cassava in Immature Palm Groves on the Production of Fresh Fruit Bunches

In palm cultivation, failure to comply with technical itineraries has disadvantages on the development of oil palm. It is in this context that the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of peasant practices intercropping the cultivation of oil palm at the immature stage with those of maize and cassava on the production of oil palm at the adult stage. To do this, a reasonable choice of palm groves constituted the experimental design. The plots chosen were those aged 16 years which, during their immature phase, were intercropped either with crops of maize (Treatment T1) or with those of cassava (Treatment T2) or without food crops (T0- Control). The results showed that peasant practices of crop intercropping of maize and cassava negatively influenced the productivity of oil palm in palm bunches. The comparison of the results showed that cassava cultivation has more detrimental effects on the productivity of oil palm in palm bunches, compared to that of maize. During the immature phase of the palm groves, it would therefore be wise to dissociate the cultivation of oil palm from those of cassava and maize to avoid, in the long term, any possible harm linked to this cultural association on the production of oil palm. Otherwise, it would be advisable to restore to the soils of immature palm groves, by fertilization, the mineral nutrients exported through the cassava and maize harvests or to reduce the densities of these food crops to reduce competition for mineral nutrients.