INTA Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria Quequisque RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITS PRODUCTION Cultivation OF QUEQUISQUE Optimal conditions for the establishment of the crop To cultivate quequisque you must select soils with little slope to avoid problems of puddles. It must be ensured that no quequisque has been cultivated in at least two years to avoid finding pests or crop diseases. Once the land is selected, a sampling of pests should be carried out at 5 random points, digging a hole of 20 cm to verify if there are pests such as: June bug worm, wire worm and termites. If we find any of these pests, it is recommended to prepare the soil one month before the sowing date, to control the pests naturally by the sun and natural enemies. The sowing should be done with a good humidity in the ground, we recommend to carry it out when at least three heavy rains have fallen and there are at least 10 centimeters or 4 inches of humidity. Quantity of seed and planting distances Once the harvest is done, the strains for seed are selected, with an approximate weight of 2 to 3 pounds. Roots should be stored under shade for a period no longer than 10 days before planting. Healthy and well-developed plants should be selected. The most recommended planting distances are 1 meter between rows and 80 centimeters between plants to obtain from 8,500 to 8,750 plants per manzana approximately. To plant a manzana of quequisque, at least 1750 roots are needed. Weed control practices The quequisque crop is highly susceptible to competition with weeds during the first three months (90 days) after its budding, in this period the plant begins its vegetative growth until the appearance of the cormels and has greater risk of plant loss. The methods for the management of weeds in quequisque are: 55 Manual through tools such as machetes, hoes. 55 Mechanic through equipment such as cultivators in the first 30 days. 55 Chemical through herbicides, as a last option. It is recommended the use of products with green band that are environmentally friendly and a lower risk to human health. Fertilization of the plot It is important that producers know the fertility of their soils to carry out a good fertilization plan in their crops. There are two important moments for fertilization: 55 25 TO 30 DAYS AFTER THE CULTURE IS BORN: it is recommended to use 1 quintal of urea plus 1 quintal of 15-15-15 or 12-30-10 per manzana for the Caribbean coast. For the rest of the country 1 quintal of urea plus 1 quintal of 18-46-00 per manzana is recommended. 55 50 TO 60 DAYS AFTER THE CROP IS BORN: it is recommended to use 2 quintals of complete fertilizer 15-15-15 per manzana for the Caribbean coast and 2 quintals of complete fertilizer 18-46-00 for the rest of the country. To supplement fertilization, the application of liquid bio-fertilizers or foliar fertilizers is recommended. In addition to performing agro-ecological management practices in their soils such as NO BURNING, incorporation of stubbles, organic fertilizers, green fertilizers, crop rotation. Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuario intanicaragua intanicaragua inta.nicaragua La elaboración y reproducción de este material es financiado por el proyecto PAIPSAN-CCN.
