Cassava And Euco

[Zeid]

Well just had one of those brilliant ideas

now should it be brilliant after this discussion i doubt but thought to give it a go.

now since it will take the euco three years to mature so i have been told, and if you leave the cassava for that period you will end up with good tonnage, so all in all after 3 years this should be a great harvest.

now i know cassava needs good drainage, but doesn't euco tress drain the water from around the cassava?

cassava need some what sheltered area (correct?)wouldn't euco do that , providing that the euco juices will not affect it since cassava is under ground.

i feel that this might kill the quality of the soil hence a good rest period or rotating the crop with a nice rest fertilizers and some broad beans beans (or something that has the same kind of roots) would revive the land.

my only problem is will the euco trees affect Cassav?

i am posting this post dreading the replies.

[johnh101]

I am sure that the eucolyptus will starve the cassava of water, I am sure I read that on here somewhere.

[Zeid]

True, but also Cassava requires good drainage. the point is if they are in equilibrium where the drainage and Euco requirements for water.

[ozzydom]

Zeid, It is feasible , dependant on a few things of course(you were expecting that were,nt you).

I think harvesting euca at 3 years is premature,and that depends on whether you grow for wood pulp or you grow for scaffolding etc,(more work involved)but bigger potential income as good straight 4"-5" poles sell for up to 50baht each.

Also are you going to remove the euca stumps when you harvest or let them sucker for a multi butt further crop.

You would also have to adjust your planting spaces to take into account shading in the second year,also the direction of your rows. East to West is going to allow more sun to the cassava.

Whether or not you have water available is a big factor in your ideas feasibility .

Many farmers inter-crop their new rubber plantations with a cassava crop so its not a silly idea.

[Zeid]

Thanks Ozzy Dom,

the only reason i have mentioned 3 years is from reading other topics where cassava is harvested every three years, i understand Euco needs 5 Years to be good.

now should you leave the cassava for 5 years can you harvested without pulling the euco tree roots? i am not in a real hurry to harvest and make money now as i am still building my base.

now the land i am talking about is only for rai a pilot, the mother -in-law took the liberty to plant us some euco trees 800 of them. which i do not mind as we where still considering. next to me i have access to two 1 rai lakes that are about 3 meter deep, another small lake also on the other side of land.

thought not sure how the land was planted what direction.

so can i wait for 5 years on the cassava?

will harvesting at this age damage the roots of the euco beyond recovery

and will the water available be enough?

how damaged will the land be, (not a big concern as a lake, house and garden, some veggies will be placed on it in 3-5 years time)

area is in southern nongbualamphu

[ozzydom]

I actually have not heard of leaving cassava for that length of time, I would think that 2-2 1/2 years would be about it, but one of our cassava experts might give you a better idea.

Root pruning eucalyptus is no big deal as it would be the feeder roots,and pruning them can force them to side shoot more feeders.

[Zeid]

what would you consider good spacing ?

is cassava same as man sapalang or something like that?

[Khonwan]

Never heard of anyone growing cassava over a period of more than two years. The 18 months is optimum in terms of starch and weight. The starch value declines after that and that the root starts to become woody. The longest I've grown it is 22 months.

I guess you'd get away with two 12-18 month seasons of inter-cropped cassava. You may not attain 4 tonne per rai (you'll probably get 3 tonne) because of the nutrient competition but it should still be worthwhile.

I was going to say, be sure to plant the cassava a reasonable distance from the euca roots, but ozzy indicates this should not be a problem.

Load up on fertiliser: cassava recommendation: 15-7-18: 50kg/rai one month after planting cassava and 50kg three months after planting.

Rgds

Khonwan

[Khonwan]

"what would you consider good spacing ?"

Cassava: Thai recommendation: 80-100cm x 80-100cm. I'm currently planting 50cm x 95cm. Doesn't make much difference: the total yield per rai tends to be the same.

"is cassava same as man sapalang or something like that?"

Yes. You may also know it as tapioca or yucca trees.

Rgds

Khonwan

[ozzydom]

Zeid, Using Khonwan,s recommended spacings,you will only be able to plant the equivalent of 0.5-0.6 of a rai dependent on the row spacings of the eucalypts. I would tend to plant the cassava cuttings at 1 metre from the euca,s if the rows are E/W (+-)10%,slightly more if they are N/S and depending on how long the euca,s have been in ,deep disc to prune any roots that may have grown that far.

[Zeid]

the euco trees have been planted for one month now

i guess tomorrow we will have a very long conversation with the in-law.

well now as i understand i can still harvest the cassava without affecting the Euco roots, so they will be harvested independently not affecting each other.

so best thing to do now is see what spacing i have and direction of planting, fertilize the land and plant cassava if possible.

so in 6 years time will be able to get around 4 cassava harvests and 1 or 2 to enable sun the sun to reach the cassava.

since it is rainy season do i have to worry much about watering or in the dry season how much watering is needed?

[ozzydom]

Its almost impossible to crystal ball this type of cropping ,as I said before it depends on many factors. For instance ,the growth rate of the euca,s is hard to guesstimate because they are going to have access to some of the nutrients you apply to the cassava.

It also depends on the euca stock they put in and whether or not you are going to prune them or not.

Left to their own devices they will spread pretty well but if you prune the lateral branches as they grow so that they are "clean butts" up to about 2.5 m they tend to grow upwards with a smaller top and so give less shade.

This method (if they are good stock )allows you to have 2 thinnings at say 4 and 6 years if they are suitable for the building industry and means that you are removing half the shade .

Whether for pulp or other uses the longer they are growing the more they are worth,(weight is money),eucalyptus is no different to any crop ,its all about getting the best yield possible.

If your aim is to get one growth and then remove the stumps or do a sucker growth from the butts, I expect you will decide over time.

All things being equal ,I have found that about 70% of final yield is gained in years 3-6.

[Khonwan]

since it is rainy season do i have to worry much about watering or in the dry season how much watering is needed?

You can plant anytime now up until the end of the rainy season without additional irrigation. I'd suggest doing so now - I'm still planting now.

Rgds

Khonwan

[Zeid]

Okay,

the spacing between the euco trees are 3 meters,

so what do you think of the following configuration

By Khonwan measurments

euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 50 cm100cm euco east west direction

north south direction by ozzydom will do

euco 150cm cassava 150cm euco (or shall i do all spacing the same)

now will locate casava supplier and lant it next week.

what do yall think of spacing?

thank you for your suggestions

[ozzydom]

Okay,

the spacing between the euco trees are 3 meters,

so what do you think of the following configuration

By Khonwan measurments

euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 50 cm100cm euco east west direction

north south direction by ozzydom will do

euco 150cm cassava 150cm euco (or shall i do all spacing the same)

now will locate casava supplier and lant it next week.

what do yall think of spacing?

thank you for your suggestions

Zeid,I would only plant in the E/W direction ,you are only going to get about 130 plants per rai extra by planting both ways and IMHO the extra cost of ploughing and harvesting both ways would not be cost effective.

[Khonwan]

Okay,

the spacing between the euco trees are 3 meters,

so what do you think of the following configuration

By Khonwan measurments

euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 50 cm100cm euco east west direction

north south direction by ozzydom will do

euco 150cm cassava 150cm euco (or shall i do all spacing the same)

now will locate casava supplier and lant it next week.

what do yall think of spacing?

thank you for your suggestions

You probably meant, "euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 100cm euco east west direction".

If you are going to use a tractor to lift the tubers, I'd only plant one row rather than two. If two rows, you could choose to use a walk-behind Kubota or even lift the tubers by hand. Two rows could be planted both running N/S and E/W if using either of these two latter methods of lifting, assuming you are not going to ridge.

However, with eucas at 3m x 3m, I don't think I'd intercrop with cassava at all.

Rgds

Khonwan

[ozzydom]

Okay,

the spacing between the euco trees are 3 meters,

so what do you think of the following configuration

By Khonwan measurments

euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 50 cm100cm euco east west direction

north south direction by ozzydom will do

euco 150cm cassava 150cm euco (or shall i do all spacing the same)

now will locate casava supplier and lant it next week.

what do yall think of spacing?

thank you for your suggestions

You probably meant, "euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 100cm euco east west direction".

If you are going to use a tractor to lift the tubers, I'd only plant one row rather than two. If two rows, you could choose to use a walk-behind Kubota or even lift the tubers by hand. Two rows could be planted both running N/S and E/W if using either of these two latter methods of lifting, assuming you are not going to ridge.

However, with eucas at 3m x 3m, I don't think I'd intercrop with cassava at all.

Rgds

Khonwan

At 3m euca spacing he is only going to be able to plant about 1/3 rai in every rai.

[ozzydom]

Okay,

the spacing between the euco trees are 3 meters,

so what do you think of the following configuration

By Khonwan measurments

euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 50 cm100cm euco east west direction

north south direction by ozzydom will do

euco 150cm cassava 150cm euco (or shall i do all spacing the same)

now will locate casava supplier and lant it next week.

what do yall think of spacing?

thank you for your suggestions

You probably meant, "euco 100cm cassava 50cm cassava 50cm cassava 100cm euco east west direction".

If you are going to use a tractor to lift the tubers, I'd only plant one row rather than two. If two rows, you could choose to use a walk-behind Kubota or even lift the tubers by hand. Two rows could be planted both running N/S and E/W if using either of these two latter methods of lifting, assuming you are not going to ridge.

However, with eucas at 3m x 3m, I don't think I'd intercrop with cassava at all.

Rgds

Khonwan

At 3m euca spacing he is only going to be able to plant about 1/3 rai in every rai.