Planting position and application of different doses of nitrogen at different times on cassava

ABSTRACT In this study, we evaluated the impact of two planting positions of cassava cuttings, cv. ‘Vassourinha’, combined with different times and doses of nitrogen application, on productivity and other agronomic traits. In the experiment, the treatment was completely randomized using a 2 × 3 × 4 factorial scheme with two positions of the cuttings [horizontal (PH) and vertical (PV)], three instances of N application (45, 90, and 135 days after planting), and four doses of N (0, 80, 160, and 240 kg ha-1), with six repetitions. We recorded and evaluated the plant height, number of shoots, stem diameter, biomass of the aerial part, number of commercial roots, the total production, and the collection index. The addition of 240 kg ha-1 N and PH increased plant height and stem diameter but did not affect the number of commercial roots, total production, or the collection index. The treatment involving the addition of nitrogen fertilizer 135 days after planting with 240 kg ha-1 N and planting in the PV provided the highest amount of shoot biomass without influencing crop productivity.