Evaluation of the growth of maize in monoculture and when associated with peanuts and cassava in the Colombian Amazon

Abstract

Crop associations are widely recognized as a highly beneficial strategy for agriculture. By combining different crops, optimal production is achieved while minimizing the spread of pests and diseases. This practice offers numerous benefits by allowing maximum utilization of space and mutual adaptation of associated species. It is important to emphasize that crop association is oriented towards the mutual advantage of the species involved, thus guaranteeing favorable results for each of them. In this sense, the behavior of maize growth rates was evaluated in a completely randomized block design with four treatments: maize monoculture; maize and peanut association; maize and cassava association; and maize, peanut, and cassava association. The following variables were evaluated: net assimilation rate (NAR), leaf area index (LAI), relative growth rate (RGR), leaf area ratio (LAR), absolute growth rate (AGR), and leaf area duration (LAD). The association of maize and cassava obtained the highest values NAR (0.002 g cm-2 d-1) and RGR (0.15 g g-1 d-1) compared to the monoculture (0.001 g cm-2 d-1 and 0.08 g g-1 d-1). This happened because maize presented higher leaf production during the vegetative growth stage indicating the physiological efficiency of maize when associated with cassava.