A COMPREHENSIVE & PRACTICAL GUIDE ON HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING & PROCESSING BUSINESS By : Micheal B . O .
INTER - CROPPING
Cassava can be intercropped with vegetables , plantation crop , yams , sweet potatoes , melon maize , rice and leguminous crops . With effective farm management , a farmer should be able to produce between 25-30 ton of maize per hectare with the potential to produce two to three times a year with irrigation facilities . The bottom line is that the investor ' s potential is the ability to manage the agronomic operations of the farm effectively .
IRRIGATION
Cassava is quite drought tolerant and is rarely irrigated , but it does produce better yields when it is regularly watered and the soil is not allowed to dry out completely .
WEED CONTROL FOR CASSAVA FARM Weeding is recommended when the cassava plants are 20 to 25 cm tall , that is , three or four weeks after planting . Weed a second time one or two months after the first weeding . Earth up the plants at the same time ; this greatly promotes the formation of tubers , and prevents the wind from blowing the plants down . After this step the plants are big enough to prevent weeds from growing . When rain spoils the mounds , they must be remade . When the soil of the mounds gets too hard , it should be broken up with a hoe to allow water and air to get in to nourish the roots .
WEED CONTROL AND LAND PREPARATION A total herbicide : Round up ( a glyphosate ) should be applied at the rate of 4 – 5 l / ha 10 days before land preparation . For cost effectiveness and optimum plant population , mechanization and planting on ridges are recommended .
WEED CONTROL BEFORE PLANTING CASSAVA Ten days before starting land preparation , a total herbicide should be applied to the land where you want to start planting cassava at the rate of 4.5 litres per hectare . If you want to cut down costs , it ' s advisable to mechanize most cassava production processes . A litres of this herbicide is between # 1,000 - # 1,500 .
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