Evaluation of peasant practices of maize and cassava crops intercropping with oil palm cultivation on the growth parameters of oil palm at the immature stage

Compliance with technical itineraries in immature oil palm groves is a guarantee of their good development and good production at the adult stage. It is in this context that the present study aimed to evaluate peasant practices of maize and cassava crops intercropping with oil palm cultivation on the growth of oil palm at the immature stage. To do this, cultural systems such as oil palm groves without intercropping with food crops (Ta0: Control), those intercropped with maize crops (Ta1) and those intercropped with cassava cultivation (Ta2), constituted the different treatments. The results showed that peasant practices of maize and cassava crop intercroppings negatively influenced the growth of oil palm. The comparison of the results showed that cassava cultivation has more detrimental effects on the growth of oil palm, compared to that of maize. It would therefore be wise to dissociate oil palm cultivation from those of cassava and maize. Otherwise, it would be appropriate to restore to the soils of the palm groves, through fertilization, the mineral nutrients exported through the cassava and maize harvests.