Effects of water stress on cassava root production

Abstract

Effects of water stress on root production of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) obtained in a trial conducted at the Irecé Exp. Station, Bahia Brazil, are reported. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, with six treatments and four replications. Plants were submitted to water stress at various stages of development, and water were applied by the furrow irrigation method. Four hundred and forty m³ of water/ha/irrigation, equivalent to 44 mm, were used. At harvest – one year after planting - the root weight of 24 available plants from each plot was determined. The most critical periods to water stress occurred in the first six months of the plant cycle, which corresponded to the rooting and tuberization iniciation stages, when production was reduced by 58% and 62%, respectively, in comparison to yield in the continuous irrigation treatment.