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Although cassava is recognized for its high tolerance to drought, irrigation is showing satisfactory results. However, few studies have been carried out to determine the effects of soil cover, irrigation and the combination of both on crop development. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of irrigation and plastic soil cover on the agronomic performance of sweet cassava. The planting was done in beds, in the double row system with the stem cutings implanted vertically, with 0.60 m between rows and 0.80 m between plants. The following treatments were applied: naked non-irrigated bedding, bedding covered with non-irrigated black polyethylene plastic, naked bedding with irrigation and bedding covered with irrigated black polyethylene plastic. Irrigation was performed by conventional sprinkling, based on the daily soil water balance at the effective depth of the cassava root system in the different stages of crop development. The characters evaluated were: shoot weight, root yield, starch percentage in the roots and time for cooking. The expression of the characters shoot weight, root yield and starch percentage in the roots was significantly influenced by irrigation management and soil cover. The individual use of irrigation and plastic soil cover technologies led to increases in root yield of 55% and 13%, respectively, and when used together, root yield increased by 89%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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