Cassava growth and productive performance at different planting times in the Agreste of Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil : Crescimento e desempenho produtivo da mandioca em diferentes epocas de plantio no Agreste de Alagoas, Nordeste do Brasil

• Published in: Revista brasileira de engenharia agrícola e ambiental Vol. 29; no. 6; p. 1
• Main Authors: Silva, Ricardo B, dos Santos Neto, Antonio L, dos Santos, Wellington M, Teodoro, Iedo, Barros, Alian C, dos Santos, Valdevan R, de Souza, Ademaria A, Ma, dos Costa, Bruno R.S, de Souza, Jose W.G, Silva, Dayane M.R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: ATECEL--Associacao Tecnico Cientifica Ernesto Luiz de Oliveira Junior 01.06.2025
• Subjects: Brasil
• ISSN: 1415-4366
• DOI: 10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v29n6e285686

HIGHLIGHTS: Planting cassava at the beginning of the rainy season promotes normal growth and increases root starch content and yield. Late cassava planting is not advisable, since it causes a greater risk of water stress during the plant's critical period. Rainfall seasonality affects cassava growth and yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different planting times and meteorological variables on the productive performance of industrial cassava in the Agreste region of Alagoas state, Brazil. The treatments were five planting dates, 25 days apart: [D.sub.1] - April 10, [D.sub.2] - May 5, [D.sub.3] - May 30, [D.sub.4] - June 24 and [D.sub.5] - July 19. The experiment was conducted from April 2021 to September 2023 (two cultivation cycles), using randomized blocks, with four replicates. The variables analyzed were agrometeorological data, crop growth and yield. In the Agreste region of Alagoas, the average daily E[T.sub.0] varies from 2.9 to 4.7 mm between the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. The average temperature of 24.3 [degrees]C meets the thermal demands of cassava cultivation. Although annual rainfall is sufficient to guarantee cassava production, it is seasonal, with a dry period from spring to summer, which compromises subsequent plantings. In the Agreste region of Alagoas, the best time to plant cassava is from April 10 to May 5, which is the beginning of the rainy season and ensures better vegetative canopy height (3.2 m), stem diameter (2.8 cm), leaf area index (3.0), maximum root length (43.1 cm), number (6.6) and yield (72.8 t [ha.sup.-1]), total biomass (145 t [ha.sup.-1]) and starch content (34.3%). Key words: Manihot esculenta Crantz, evapotranspiration, planting dates, root biomass, water deficit RESUMO: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a influencia de diferentes epocas de plantio e variaveis meteorologicas no desempenho produtivo da mandioca industrial na regiao do Agreste de Alagoas. Os tratamentos foram cinco datas de plantio, com espacamento temporal de 25 dias entre elas: [D.sub.1] - 10 de abril, [D.sub.2] - 05 de maio, [D.sub.3] - 30 de maio, [D.sub.4] - 24 de junho e [D.sub.5] - 19 de julho. O periodo experimental foi de abril de 2021 a setembro de 2023, dois ciclos de cultivo. Utilizou-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados, com quatro repeticoes. As variaveis analisadas foram: dados agrometeorologicas e de crescimento e producao da cultura. Na regiao do Agreste de Alagoas, entre as estacoes chuvosa e seca, a E[T.sub.0] media diaria varia de 2,9 a 4,7 mm, respectivamente. A temperatura media do ar e 24,3 [degrees]C e atende as demandas termicas da cultura da mandioca. A precipitacao anual e suficiente para garantir a producao de mandioca, porem, ha sazonalidade nas chuvas, com periodo seco da primavera ao verao, o que prejudica plantios mais tardios. Na regiao do Agreste de Alagoas, o melhor periodo para o plantio da mandioca e de 10 de abril a 5 de maio, que e o inicio do periodo chuvoso da regiao e garante melhores resultados em: altura do dossel vegetativo (3,2 m), diametro do caule (2,8 cm), indice de area foliar (3,0), comprimento maximo (43,1 cm), numero (6,6) e rendimento de raizes (72,8 t [ha.sup.-1]), biomassa total (145 t [ha.sup.-1]) e teor de amido (34,3%). Palavras-chave: Manihot esculenta Crantz, evapotranspiracao, datas de plantio, biomassa de raizes, deficit hidrico