Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6.3 Plants raised from
seed sowing
Frequency of hoeing will be determined by the frequency of rains or of watering.
Normally, one or two hoeing operations may be required during the rainy season,
and all other operations should be combined with watering if provided. No watering
should be allowed to go without a follow-up hoeing, otherwise watering will make
little impact upon the growth of the plants.
Plants raised by sowing must also be hoed. It will be enough to hoe them once
or twice in a season since normally no artificial irrigation is provided to such plants.
Since spacing of such plants is very close, the entire space between the rows and the
columns may have to be dug out and spread over. The required depth of excavation
in such cases may be less, generally 5-10 cm (Fig. 6.3 ).
Hoeing should be carried out at least for 3 years beginning with the planting year.
Where no watering is provided, hoeing operation should follow the last rains of the
season. If growth of the plants is poor, or the soils are too heavy, it may be desirable
to carry on hoeing well into the fourth and the fifth year.
6.10
Watering the Plants
Timing of watering is generally laid down in the treatment plan. Yet, many times,
a crisis watering may have to be decided upon on the fly. In case of an irrigated
plantation, regular watering may be provided. Watering may also help in saving
plants from a spell of excess heat, a prolonged drought, or a severe frost. In any case,
the frequency and the number of waterings will depend upon cost considerations apart
from considerations such as the average rainfall in the region, total number of rainy
days, the type of soil and terrain, and the type of species chosen for afforestation. In
most semiarid areas, artificial watering may not be required at all.
Watering or irrigation can be carried out in a number of ways—such as through
furrows, using pipes, or using buckets (spot irrigation). Given the scale of afforesta-
tion projects, cost constraints, and availability of water in arid areas, it is unlikely
that any method other than point-to-point watering will be chosen. Scarcity of water
will make it impossible to opt for flow irrigation. In spot irrigation, water is carried
by workers in buckets—more often in pitchers carried on head—and delivered into
Search WWH ::




Custom Search