Introductory Agroforestry

CULTURAL PRACTICES

Irrigation in Nurseries

• Irrigation should be provided as soon as the planting of cuttings in any bed is completed.
• The first irrigation should be medium heavy so that about 5 to 7 cms water is uniformly above ground level at the time of irrigation.
• Soil moisture in the nursery bed should be kept high during rooting of cuttings.
• Subsequent irrigation should be light and the interval may vary between 7 to 10 days depending upon the type of soil.
• Light sandy soils will need frequent irrigations whereas medium to heavy soils will need irrigation at longer intervals.
• The top soil should not be allowed to develop cracks and become absolutely dry.
• Proper and effective drainage of excess water during rainy reason is essential to prevent lodging and collar rot.
• After the rainy season one to two irrigation's per month is adequate.

Fertilizer application:

• As the poplar plants grow very fast, the nursery soil has to be enriched frequently. Urea, Super phosphate, Muriate of Potash and plentiful supply of Farm Yard Manure are essential for maintaining the growth of cuttings.
• Application of well decomposed compost or farm yard manure @ 200 to 250 quintal per hectare nursery area at the time of soil working is very helpful for the growth of poplar.
• The quantity of fertilizer will depend upon the type of soil.
• Nursery beds are depleted of fertility after producing plants for one year, if no fertilizer is applied.
• After the rains have set in, 2g of urea per plant is given;
• Regular debudding and hoeing will depend upon the incidence of weeds and grasses.
• Singling of collar shoots should be done during April-May when the most vigorous shoot has attained a height 30-35 cm.
• Debudding is done by gently rubbing with gunny bags the newly formed buds upto 2/3 rd height of plant from the base from June to October.
• Sufficient care should be taken to ensure that the young leaves are not damaged.

Planting Entire Transplants (ETPs)

• The best time for planting poplar is during the months of January-February before the opening of new buds. One year old ETPs of 3 m length containing 25 cm root portion give most satisfactory results.
• The depth of planting will depend upon the soil type, depth of water table, size of planting stock, etc.
• As poplar is a fast growing species, the soil requires to be incorporated with fertilizers
• A basal dose of 2 kg good FYM, 50 gm super phosphate and 5 gm urea per plant is needed. Nitrogenous fertilizer should be applied in split doses, first dose of nitrogen as 75 g urea should be applied during the first week of June, second dose of 150 g urea during first week of July and third dose of 250 g urea during second and third week of August.
• Application of fertilizer must be followed by light irrigation.
• The best spacing under agroforestry systems is 5 m x 4 m i.e. 500 plants per hectare.

Application of Manure and Fertilizers

Well decomposed farmyard manure which is rich in macro as well as micro nutrients essential for the plants should be applied to the total area under poplars while preparing the land for inter-cultivation of Rabi and kharif crops. Application of nitrogenous, potassic and phosphatic fertilizers as well as micro nutrients will depend on the fertility status of the land. 50 gms of single super phosphate 25 gms muriate of potash is used at the time of planting.