Planting, Regeneration, Aftercare and Maintenance - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 108

6.6 Ensuring Continued Protection

Protection of a plantation against various adverse factors is the first step in its mainte-
nance. The fence is both a major investment and a crucial component of the protection
strategy. It has to be maintained in perfect condition, and if found to be inadequate
in any manner, should be augmented, redesigned, redone, or reinforced. Too often,
a loose or broken barbed wire, a small section of wall demolished, or a small section
of ditch filled up has been the writing off of a plantation that might otherwise have
been a perfect piece of success. It is therefore necessary to keep a daily watch on the
condition of the fence and repair it regularly and instantly.
Protection from damage by cattle, livestock, and wild animals will be ensured by
the fence, but the fence will not be a safeguard against damage by man. Therefore,
watch and ward is also important in continued protection. Watchmen can be one or
many depending upon the risk factors, costs payable, and size and importance of
the plantation. Of course, nothing prevents the watchman (or watchmen) from doing
some routine maintenance work such as hoeing the plants or repairing the fence.
Thus, a watchman does not have to be an unproductive liability; he can instead
double up as a productive hand. In any case, protection of both the plantation and of
the fence itself (in case of barbed wire fence) can be ensured only if a watchman has
been deployed at the site.
Pests are another risk to constantly watch for. Rats and gerbils, fungal attack,
and termite attack are common problems encountered in plantations in arid areas.
Effective strategies against these pests should be devised and implemented. Pesticides
may help but should be used judiciously with caution and circumspection. Many
times, blind use of pesticides can snap an unseen but important ecological link of
dependence, and can result in a chain reaction of adverse effects. Killing rats using
zinc oxide, for example, may be all right but it may create problems for many other
wild animals. Termites are often managed using diverse techniques, such as use of
pesticides in potting mix while filling polypots, while irrigating the polypots in the
nursery, or while treating the pits before planting. Even so, termites may be a major
problem in field after plantation work has been carried out. An appropriate dose of
a pesticide is often the only solution for an unusually termite-prone site. Such doses
may have to be scheduled regularly rather than be a one-time operation.
Biopesticides, or organic pest repellents, can be considered as an alternative,
though these will scarcely save a losing situation arising out of a severe pest attack.
It will be seen that leaf compost or crushed leaves of many species locally available act
as pest repellents. Such eco-friendly methods should definitely be used, if considered
adequate, which in most cases will also improve the organic contents of the soil.
Climatic adversities such as frost and heat can cause severe damage to a plantation.
Sensitivity to these factors varies across species. A suitable programme for protection
against these adverse factors should be at hand. Often, covering the sensitive plants
with mulch, scrub, or grass will be sufficient for frost proofing. Appropriate timing
of watering and use of manure or fertiliser at the time when frost is most likely to
occur is a sound frost-proofing strategy. Heat is a risk only to the plants brought from