• AcS-o'f.7 MAFE Booklet Series No. 1: fI3~~2- Best-Bet Agroforestry and Soil Conservation·Practices (2001 EDITION) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: CONTOUR RIDGING USING THE LINE LEVEL 3 Figure 1:Equipmentandpeopleneededtomarkcontour lineswithalinelevel 4 FigureZ: Usingthelinelevelinthefieldandreadingthe bubbleso thatitisdeadcenter 5 Figure 3:SmoothingtheContourLine 6 Figure4:Aligningridges betweenpeggedcontourlines, tophalfto theupperpeggedline, thebottomhalftolowerline 7 CHAPTER 2: VETIVER NURSERIES AND CONTOUR HEDGES 9 Figure5: Trimmingvetiverinthenursery 11 Figure 6: Diggingclumpsin thenursery 11 Figure 7: Trimmingclumpsandsplitting 11 Figure8: Plantingvetiveron thecontour 12 CHAPTER 3: TREE NURSERY MANAGEMENT 15 Table 1: TreatmentandNurseryTimes forCommon AgroforestryTreeSpecies 17 CHAPTER 4: HOMESTEADTREE PLANTING 19 Table Z: Commonnon·fruittreespeciesforHomestead Plantingandtheiruses 24 CHAPTER 5: UNDERSOWING TEPHROSIA VOGELIIWITH MAIZE 27 CHAPTER 6: DISPERSED SYSTEMATICTREE INTERPLANTING 33 Figure9: Resultsafterthinning(from IOx5mto 10xl0m and IOx20m) 35 Table 3: Thinningregimeaftertheinitial lOx5mspacing with200seedlings/ha 35 Figure 10:Pruninga youngtreetoimproveitsgrowthform 36 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ThisbookletwasproducedbytheMalawiAgroforestryExtensionProject(MAFE)through a Cooperative Agreement between USAID and Washington State University under the DepartmentofLandResources Conservationin theMinistry ofAgricultureandIrrigation. The collaborationofthe Forestry Departmentis gratefully acknowledged. The authors are responsible for the views expressed in this bookIet. They do notnecessarily conform with those of USAID. Much of the information reflects knowledge gained from field-level experienceswithfarmersoverthepast8yearsbyMAFEanditsmanypartners.Therearetoo manypeopletothankindividually, buttheircollaborationisgreatlyappreciated, especially agricultural and forestry staff in government. We also wish to thank individuals and institutionsforpermissiontoreproduceillustrationsfromthefollowingbooks:AFieldGuide toLengweNationalPark(1984)byB.Y.SherryandAJ.Ridgeway; Trees ofKenya(1989) byT. Noadand A. Birnie; Common Fuelwood Crops by E.L. Little, Jf.; Trees ofSouthern Africa (1977) by K. C. Palgrave; Useful Plants ofMalawi (1975) by 1. Williamson; A Selection ofUseful Trees and Shrubs for Kenya (1992) by ICRAF; and On-Farm Tree NurseriesbytheKenyaWoodfuelDevelopmentProgramme.Eachisacknowledgedwhere used. ProperCitation: W.T. Bunderson, Z.D. Jere, LM. Hayes and H.S.K. Phombeya(November 2001). Best-BetAgroforestryand Soil Conservation Practices. Malawi Agroforestry Extension Project, Publication No.43, Lilongwe. ,Key individuals involvedinproducing this bookletinclude: Assistance in Editing and Formatting: D. Hardesty, D.L. Whaley Illustrations: F. Bodnar, D. Chimutu Photographs: W.T. Bunderson, LM. Hayes, Z.D. Jere, lC. Noel, D. Hardesty, S. Minae andW.A. Bromley Manuscript Review: R.J. Mwakalagho, N.J. Mu1enga, A.R. Saka and H.P.P. Chinkbondo CHAPTER 1: CONTOUR RIDGING USING THE LINE LEVEL Ridgesalignedwiththecontour Contour ridge your farm to: .. reduce water run-off and soil erosion .. conserve soil moisture for plant growth .. Improve crop yields .. Increase ground water supplies .. reduce siltation and flooding 3 .'~-------' Introduction: Annual ridging by hand hoe is the common method ofland preparation in Malawi. Sincefewfarmers cultivate on contour, ridges tend to channel water, which aggravates runoff .' ' -'l and erosion. Contourridging reduces these problems. To dothis, contour ~~~ marker ridges are built as guides to re align planting ridges. Marker ridges may be constructed anytime in the dryseason A C B afterharvest. Planting ridges are then re aligned when preparing land for next season's crop. Constructing marker ridges with a line level: A line (spirit) level isasimple instrument for marking contour markerridges. It consists of aspirit level that hangs from a figure 1: Equipmentandpeopleneeded taut string between two poles. tomarkcontourlineswith alineleve/. Note thatmakingthegrooves on the2 Materials Required: line level, Sm sticksatexactiythesameheightis critical. string, 2 straightpoles or sticks 1.6-2 m long with flat ends, panga, pegs, hammer/stonefor driving in pegs, and 3 4. Two people setthe sticks on alevel people (Fig. 1). surface (e.g., floor) with the string tight. Markthe exactpositions of Equipment Set Up and Testing: the 2 sticks on the floor. Then read 1. Trim the ends ofthe sticks to make the line level. Switch the positions of them flat. Then stand them upright the sticks and read the level again. on level ground, preferably the floor 5. Ifthe bubble is notperfectly centred of abuilding. Cut agroove around both times, check that (a) thefloor is each stickat exactly the same height level, (b) the groove heightsofboth above the ground (about 1.2 to 1.6 sticks are identical, and (c) the level is m or chest-level to make reading hanging properly. Correct any easy). problems as needed. 2. Tie 2 knots in the centre ofthe 6. Ifthe checks above are correct, the string, and hang the level between line level must befaulty and needsto them to stop itfrom sliding. be replaced. 3. Tie the string ends in the groove of each stick. Using the level in the field 6. FollowStep 4. When the bubble is (see Fig. 2): perfectlycentred, insert anotherpeg atA's position. 1. Start pegging atthetop ofthefield about 10-20m belowthe upper 7. Repeatthe above steps, inserting corner. pegs at each pointtill the end ofthe field is reached. 2. Insert a peg to locatethe starting point ofXs stick. Avoid placing the 8. Theteam then moves downslope sticks on rocks, ridges and anthills, or from thefirst contour line. The in holes and depressions. interval depends on the slopeofthe field, i.e. 20m apartfor gentle 3. Cinstructs Bto move 5 malong the slopes, 15m apartfor medium estimatedcontour line with the string slopes and 10m apartforsteep tight. slopes. Pegging ofcontour lines 4. Creadsthe position ofthe bubble. should coverthewholefield. He/she instructs Bto move up or NOTE:When pegging across paths, down the slope until the bubble is gullies, anthills, streamsand the like, preciselycentred. Insertanother peg shorten the string to halfits length atthe precise location of B'sstick. (about 2.5m) to decrease the pegging 5. Leaving Bin place, Amoves past Bto intervalfor greateraccuracy. locatethe next peg. C instructsAto move up ordown the slope while reading the line level. figure2: Usingthe linelevelinthefield andreadingthebubble sothatitisdeadcente ." B 5 Smoothing Contour Lines: Pegged When not to smooth the contour lines maybe smoothed outto contour line: Do notsmooth the reduce sharp angles between pegs. This contour lineon irregularterrain as it simplifies the construction of marker could cause runoff problems. ridges and re-alignment of planting ridges. Building marker ridges: Build the pegged contour line into aridge. The When to smooth the contour marked ridges simply serve as guides to line: Smooth pegged lines only on re-align planting ridges and need not be uniform terrain by moving certain biggerthan otherridges ifthey are clearly pegs in orout ofthe contour line as marked. follows (see Fig. 3): A. Threepeople each stand by thefirst Re-aligning crop ridges: After three pegs in the line (pegs 1, 2 and marker ridges are built, align crop ridges 3). Movethe middle peg (no. 2) so parallel to them. Usetwo marker ridges that all 3pegs are in astraight line. to align the enclosed area between them. B. All three people then move two pegs To improve re-alignment on contour, forward Le. to pegs 3, 4 and 5. align the top halfof the area with the top Movethe middle peg (no. 4) so that markerridge, and the bottom halfwith pegs 3, 4 and 5 are in astraightline. the lower markerridge (see Fig. 4) Repeatthis process till the line is finished. The line will now be smooth, following the gradual curves ofthe contour. 2A 2B ,.;', 3 4A ;fiiij;'- :.~<~~o<.~~~ .. {"., Figure 3: SmoothingtheContourLine Figure4:Aligningridgesbetweenpegged contourlines, tophalftotheupperpegged line, thebottomhalftolowerline imeframe for Contour Ridging .. JUNE-SEPTEMBER: After harvest and clearing, peg contour lines using a line level and construct marker ridges .. AUGUST-DECEMBER: Re-align crop ridges when making new ridges for the coming season 7 CHAPTER 2: VETIVER NURSERIES AND CONTOUR HEDGES AwellestablishedcontourVetlverhedge Plant contour Vetiver hedges to: .. reduce surface run-off and soil erosion .. increase soil moisture and crop yields .. supply thatching, mulch or bedding material for livestock PAG~ PREVIOWS BLANK 9 Introduction: Erosion and runofffrom deforestation, overgrazing, fires, and poor Collecting and preparing agronomic practices threaten the vetiver slips for planting: environment and agricultural production. 1. Collect planting material afterthe Planting perennial bunch grasseson the rains start, and plantwithin 48 hours. contour provides agood barrieragainst 2. Selecthealthy, well established clumps erosion and runoff. With properspacing of grass. and management, natural terraces form between the contour hedges as soil 3. Trim the grass to 30 cm tall before moves from the upperside to the lower digging up (Fig. 5). side behind the hedge. Contourhedges 4. Makevertical cuts to dig out clumps also slow down and retain waterthat with roots; leave 15%ofeach clump would otherwise be lostthrough surface for nursery regeneration (Fig. 6). run-off. Multi-purposetrees or shrubs may be planted above the grass hedges. 5. Keep clumps upright in shade and awayfrom wind to reduce drying out NOTE: Grass hedges are used to reduce until planted. Waterthe collected runoffand erosion, NOTto stabilise planting material if itbegins to dry marker ridges which are simply guides to out. re-align ridges on contour. 6. On the dayofplanting, trim leaves of collected clumps to 15 cm to reduce The Grass: Vetiver is afast growing, transpiration and to encourage deep-rooted perennial grass well adapted tillering; then dividethem intoslips to all agro-ecological zones in Malawi. It each with 3-4 tillers and 5-10 cm of is notcompetitive with crops and is not roots (Fig. 7). The slips are nowready known to host pests and diseases of for planting in nurseries oralong concern to agriculture. Vetiver seed has contour lines to establish dense lowviability, so there is littlechance ofit hedges. Use largerslips with 5-10 becoming aweed. It is easyto establish tillersfor planting inside gullies. and maintain, and itmakesgood thatching, mulch, and bedding material for livestock. Vetiveria zizanioides is the preferred species because itgrows faster and forms adenserand more leafy hedge than Vetiveria nigritana.