Effect of Ridge and Flat Soil Planting On Growth and Yield of Short Duration Cassava in Sandy Soils With No-Irrigation in Northeast Thailand.

Two experiments were conducted in sandy soils at the farmers’ field in Wang-wa and Phea-fan village in Khon Kaen province Northeast Thailand. The cassava namely “KU-50” and “Rayong-11” were used in this study. The cassava stems were transplanted on ridge and flat soils on November 26^th and November 29^th, 2012 in Wang-wa and Phea-fan villages, respectively. Growth data were observed at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days after planted (DAP). Soil samples were taken and determined about the physical and chemical properties. The field monitoring system (FMS) and soil moisture sensors were installed to monitor and record hourly about climatic, soil moisture and soil temperature data automatically in the fields. This study aims to (1) investigate the effect of ridging and flat soils planting on growth and yield of cassava with no-irrigation in the dry season and (2) to compare growth and yield of “KU-50 and Rayong-11” in these areas. At the initial stage (30 DAP), the result shows that KU-50 gave higher crop surviving than Rayong-11 at both sites (at Wang-wa field, KU-50 was 85.88% and Rayong-11 was 70.37%, respectively, and at Phea-fan the KU-50 was 97.22% and Rayong-11 was 94.10%, respectively). The survival ratio of planting on ridges was lower than on flat soils at the initial stage. In contrast, growth and root yield of cassava planting on ridges was greater than planting on flat soils not significantly different. This study indicated that the KU-50 was well adapted in sandy soils with the no-irrigation and provided higher root yield than the Rayong-11 significantly.

Keywords: Short duration cassava, Ridging, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, Climatic data, Rain-fed.