Vetiver-a promising grass for soil conservation in Vietnam
1996
Nguyen Tu Siem | Thai Phien | Tran Thi Tam(National Institute of Soils and Fertilizers (Vietnam))
In Vietnam the upland areas account for 25 million ha, which are located mainly on slopes of 25 percent to 45 percent. So soil erosion presents a real threat for agricultural production and environment on the upland. Studies showed that the anti-erosive measures based on imported modern techniques appeared to be less acceptable by farmers than improved traditional ones using living barriers. Among the plants used for this purpose, Vetiver is considered one of the most suitable one. This poster paper describes the present status of Vetiver use for soil and water conservation. Both advantages and disadvantages of this plant are also discused based on the farmer feedbacks and field observations. In Vietnam Vetiver can be grown either from seeds or by vetiver splits, but the later way vetiver is propagated vegetatively, by splits and not by seeds. Vetiver is planted along the contour at 15-20 cm interval of the sloping land. The vetiver grass grows very fast and does not compete with trees for nutrients. Within two to tree years the plant grow together, forming vegetative hedge. Vetiver puts down a dense curtain of deep roots and, being so well anchored, a hedge can withstand even a shed of water flowing over it. Vetiver hedge can block the passage of soil, keep topsoil in site limit runoff, and over time, retard most surface erosion and in many cases can filter out the soil particles. Since most of cropping systems on the upland retrieve nitrogen amendment, growing vetiver in mixing with some leguminous ones is highly recommended.
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Эту запись предоставил Kasetsart University