Implemented by: Flemming
Nielsen (FACT/
Banana
hill)
Main findings: The plants are too young to allow any firm conclusions. Furthermore the data collection was not of sufficient quality for part of the time and on short reliable data series have thus been obtained so far.
Objective
To test how spacing and planting material used in
Jatropha curcas hedges affect the yield of
Jatropha curcas
Background
Initially the project focused on small farm plots of
Jatropha curcas in mono-cropping. However, with time the focus moved to boundary planting of
Jatropha curcas as this is preferred by the farmers. Initially boundary plantings consisted of one row of
Jatropha curcas but recently dual rows have become popular.
The farmers practice mixed inter-cropping without planting on line or homogeneous crop mix. This makes it difficult to achieve rigorous results from on-farm boundary plantings. More controlled conditions are required. After discussions with the project staff it was felt that the farmers' demonstration plots would be the best location for the trial. A positive side effect is that many farmers can observe it and draw their own conclusions and that it can be part of the training sessions in the Farmers' Clubs.
In the demonstration plots it is be easier to keep the crop planted on one side of the hedge uniform and also ensure uniform management of the trial.
Because the crops in the trial are not planted and managed in the same ways as farmers do the crop yield in the experiment cannot be assumed to reflect yield in farmers fields'.
It has been shown that Jatropha can easily be established from seedlings, cuttings and direct seeding. Plants established from cuttings appear to yield seed earlier than any other method. However, because cuttings don't develop tap roots they are susceptible to drought and wind and therefore not preferred. A combination of seedlings or direct seedling with cuttings may be the best way to quickly get yield and still secure good long-term yield.
In the literature spacing for hedges are often 15-25 cm. However, in the project area farmers never plant that dense so the closest spacing that is tested is 25 cm. One treatment consists of a single row of
Jatropha curcas spaced 50 cm apart. This resembles farmers' practice and is therefore considered the control in the experiment.
Treatments
The following three treatments are tested:
- Single row of seedlings planted 50 cm apart (control)
- Single row with planting distance 25 cm consisting of 3
cuttings followed by 1 seedling followed by 3 cuttings etc.
- Single row with planting distance 25 cm consisting of 3
cuttings followed by 1 plant established from direct seeding followed
by 3 cuttings etc.
- Dual
row 50 cm apart. The spacing between plants in both rows is 25 cm. The
plant stations alternate. The row facing the field consist of cuttings
and the row facing the path consist of seedlings
Below is a detailed description of each treatment and the surroundings.
Treatment 1 (Control)
_________________________________________________
path (2m for fire protection)
_________________________________________________
0 50cm 1m 1.5m 2m 2.5m 3m
|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| measure yield from central 2m
N N N N N N N N N N N N
///////////////////////////////////////////////// min. 2 m of crops
///////////////////////crops///////////////////// planted 1.5m from
///////////////////////////////////////////////// Jatropha hedge
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
N: Nursery seedling: non-measured
N: Nursery seedling: measured
Treatment 2
_________________________________________________
path (2m for fire protection)
_________________________________________________
0 50cm 1m 1.5m 2m 2.5m 3m
|...|.:.|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|.:.|...|...| measure yield from central 2m
N C C C N C C C N C C C
///////////////////////////////////////////////// min. 2 m of crops
///////////////////////crops///////////////////// planted 1.5m from
///////////////////////////////////////////////// Jatropha hedge
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
N: Nursery seedling: non-measured C: Cutting: non-measured
N: Nursery seedling: measured C: Cutting: measured
Treatment 3
_________________________________________________
path (2m for fire protection)
_________________________________________________
0 50cm 1m 1.5m 2m 2.5m 3m
|...|.:.|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|.:.|...|...| measure yield from central 2m
S C C C S C C C S C C C
///////////////////////////////////////////////// min. 2 m of crops
///////////////////////crops///////////////////// planted 1.5m from
///////////////////////////////////////////////// Jatropha hedge
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
N: Nursery seedling: non-measured S: Direct seeding: non-measured
N: Nursery seedling: measured S: Direct seeding: measured
Treatment 4
_________________________________________________
path (2m for fire protection)
_________________________________________________
0 50cm 1m 1.5m 2m 2.5m 3m
|...|:..|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|:..|...|...| measure yield from central 2m
N N N N N N N N 75cm between rows
C C C C C C C C of Jatropha curcas
///////////////////////////////////////////////// min. 2m of crops
///////////////////////crops///////////////////// planted 1.5m from
///////////////////////////////////////////////// Jatropha hedge
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
N: Nursery seedling: non-measured C: Cutting: non-measured
N: Nursery seedling: measured C: Cutting: measured
The crop in the experiment will be a crop that is grown by the farmers
in the
area. A rotation of crops will likely be used. In every season the same
crop
will be planted uniformly (line planting) throughout each block in a uniform way.
Observe that treatment 4 is 75cm wider than the other treatments and
that in all cases the distance between the first crop row and the hedge
has to be 1.5m. The lines of crops will therefore be interrupted at the double row hedge, e.g.
_________________________________
_________________________________ path
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Jatropha hedge
XXXXXXXX
.........................
........
......................... lines of crops (min 2m wide)
........
.........................
........
Experimental Design
A Randomized Complete Block Design is used. Four
blocks have been
established.
Layout
The randomization of the treatments:
Randomization of the treatments
| block 1 |
block 2 |
block 3 |
block 4 |
| 3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
| 4 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
| 2 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
| 1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
Example: Layout of the block 1 |
|
< -- 3 m --
> |
< -- 3 m --
> |
< -- 3 m --
> |
< -- 3 m --
> |
| min. 2 m { |
Uniform crop |
| 0.5m { |
Jatropha hedge treatment 3 |
Jatropha hedge treatment 4 |
Jatropha hedge treatment 2
|
Jatropha hedge treatment 1 |
| 2 m { |
path (no vegetation) |
No replanting is done as this is in line with the common practice of farmers in the area.
Materials
Jatropha planting material required for one block:
- 21 seedlings
- 30 cuttings
- 3 seeds
All planting material is of the same origin.
For the crop:
- annual crop like maize or beans
For data collection:
- clearly labeled bags or evenlopes for collecting seeds
- a 5 kg scale
- a data sheet
Management of Hedges
The hedges are pruned according to the recommendations
from the project.
Data Collection
Data
is being collected from two meter hedge in each plot, i.e.
to avoid border effects the last ca. 50 cm hedge that is bordering the
plot
is left out of the sampling. The plants that are sampled are
marked with coloured strings. Seeds should be collected while still on the plant, i.e. when
the fruits are yellow to ensure that sampling is only done from the
plants included in the sampling.
Data to collect monthly:
- Jatropha
curcas yield, dry weight de-shelled fruits
- Did pruning take place;
- Did harvesting take place;
- Did flowering take place;
- Did leaf shedding take place;
- Was there pest damage;
- What crops grow next to the hedge;
Data to be collected annually:
- Number of terminal branches
Site Layout
Photo Documentation
Hedge
improvement trial block 1
October 2008
Hedge
improvement trial block 2
October 2008
April 2009
Hedge
improvement trial block 3
October 2008
April 2009
September 2009
April 2010
November 2010
Hedge
improvement trial block 4
April 2009
April 2009
April 2010
November 2010
