Fatores biofísicos e de manejo que provocam a lacuna de produtividade em lavouras de mandioca de indústria no Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

The world population is expected to grow by 2 billion people over the next 30 years, increasing food consumption by 50 to 70%, thus increasing the pressure on agriculture to produce food in a profitable way and with less socio-environmental impact. The aim of this study was to identify which are the biophysical and management factors that cause the yield gap in industrial cassava fields in Mato Grosso do Sul. To estimate productivity and crop management, the method developed by the Global Yield Gap Atlas was applied, in which there is a balance between the amount of data to be used and the representativeness of the study area. In the study, 300 fields were monitored, between the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons, through questionnaires, with basic management information. In the fields, the yield and the percentage of starch in the roots were also measured. Limit functions were used to estimate the potential yields in planting dates, fertilizer dose at the planting base, number of weed control in the field, and, finally a regression tree was developed to show sources of variation in cassava productivity due to management factors. The average yield of high yield (HY) and low yield (LY) in cassava in Mato Grosso do Sul are respectively 23.8 and 14.4 Mg ha-1. Factors such as cultivar, planting date and total amount of K2O fertilization affected starch levels. The main management factors that reduce the actual yield of cassava crops in Mato Grosso do Sul are: the cultivar, the total amount of K2O fertilization, the planting date, and the number of weed control. The yield exploitable gap in Mato Grosso do Sul is 44.6 Mg ha-1. Through good management practices it is possible to increase by 1.582.764,8 tons per year of industrial cassava produced in Mato Grosso do Sul.