Cultivation of cassava and beans in intercropping systems held in Coimbra in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the cultivation of cassava and the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) under different systems and plant arrangements. The experiment was carried out in Coimbra MG, Brazil, on the experimental campus of the Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa. A randomized block design was adopted, with seven treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of the following arrangements: a single row of cassava monoculture; a single row of cassava with a row of beans; a double row of cassava monoculture; a double row of cassava with a row of beans, a double row of cassava with two rows of beans; a double row of cassava with three rows of beans, and bean monoculture. The following variables were evaluated for the beans: grain yield, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and 1,000 seed weight. Evaluated for the cassava, were root production, shoot mass, harvest index, number of roots per plant, root length, root diameter, root dry matter, starch content and area-equivalence index. Conclusions from the results showed that efficient land-use was observed in the intercropping arrangements of single rows of cassava with one row of beans, and of double rows of cassava with two or three rows of beans, and these are therefore recommended. Bean-plant productivity is reduced regardless of the system used when compared to monocultures, and there was no reduction in cassava yield when intercropped with beans.