Tillage and nutrition for tannia [Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.). Schott] raised as an intercrop in coconut gardens

A field investigation was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala during the year 2015-16 to study the role of tillage and nutrition in growth and yield of tannia raised as an intercrop in coconut gardens. The experiment was laid out in split plot design. The main plot treatments were (l1 -conventional tillage followed by pit system, l2 -conventional tillage followed by mound system, l3 - deep tillage followed by pit system and l4 - deep tillage followed by mound system). The sub plot treatments were (s1- control, s2- coir pith, s3- rice husk) and (n1- integrated nutrient management (INM) and n2- organic nutrition). Results of the experiment revealed that the growth and yield of tannia was improved by deep tillage with pit system of planting, application of coir pith as soil conditioner @ 500g plant-1 at the time of planting and providing organic nutrition (FYM @37.5 t ha-1 + wood ash @ 2 t ha-1) was highly beneficial.