Importance of creating a micro climate to protect and grow healthy pants is emphasized time and again by Palekarji. Here are few videos and phots to demonstrate the same
The above illustration can also be used to create wind protection around your vegetable plantation, because we may not need a permanent live wall due to space constraints in a field. In SPNF vegetable plots, one can build a border live wall using jowar, maize, sunhemp and diancha. This will protect against heavy winds and also act as barrier against air borne viruses.
If you are sharing a border with other farmers and can’t grow a thick wind break plantation, then you can grow perennial plants such as grylcidia, agase (sesbenia grandiflora) or nugge (moringa) as a border crop on the bunds surrounding your fruit plantation. Grow the plantation to height of 5 feet and trim the branches to get continuous mulch material and also to act as a wind barrier. Check the video below, where the farmer’s lemon plantation, is surrounded by grylcidia live border crop.
Thanks for this very useful info. Is the live fence sufficient only on the west side of the plot?
Thanks Subramani, imporrant are the south and west side borders for wind break. However, having a wind break plantation on all four sides will avoid air borne viruses and bacteria, weed seeds, etc which are carried by wind.
How many layers of wind break plantation is advised and what type of plants.
As suggested in the article, your windbreak plantation will be determined on your field situations. If sharing with a neighbour a bund, then growing big trees if not allowed by your neighbour due to the shade of a canopy, then you can choose 3rd option as shown in the post. But you can build a 5 layer, 3 layers or 2 layers based on your need. Your choice of trees can be from forest trees, medicinal herbs, etc. Shortly, we will publish a post on various windbreak trees suggested by Palekarji and their uses.