I just knew there was a reason that Vetiver--the plant itself, not even its myriad applications--makes me feel positively giddy with delight. Apparently my pleasure is well grounded, er, founded. This just in from our Indian friends Sathyanarayana Bhat, Ph.D, and Narayana Upadhyaya, from Aditi Organic Certifications Pvt. Ltd., in Bangalore:
Vetiver Systems for Rural livelihood and Prosperity
Usheera Grass
Indians have known Usheera or Lavancha for at least 5,000 years. Although this humble Indian grass travelled abroad just 25 years ago, people from more than 100 countries now teach us how to use it for applications from organic farming to tsunami prevention.
Ramayana stories teach that twins of Lord Rama, raised by sages, were named after two Natural beings. "Lava" is a type of small bird, and "kusha" is a grass. Fragrant-rooted Khus (from Kusha - Sanskrit)is Vetiver grass! Khus means joy and happiness. Thus Vetiver's aromatic root is considered to be not only useful in Vedic rituals but also as grass that brings happiness. As a matter of fact, Vetiver conserves our nature. It's a life-saving drug, and it is a panacea for all problems of Environment and Farming.
Vetiver has leaves that grow up to six feet and roots as deep as 30 feet! People often call it a living nail. Without exaggeration, this is a fact! Imagine the height of one coconut tree under the ground. This is the depth that this clump reaches underneath the ground! The soil binding and water holding capacity of your land is facilitated by planting Vetiver in your village or farming land. Even bulldozers cannot uproot its strong, deep root system. So this plant definitely can work as a “living nail” particularly in coastal areas, not only to prevent erosion during monsoon months, but also protect against dreaded tsunami currents! Many experiments using Vetiver to prevent landslides have confirmed that it keeps soil together without using cement.
Other uses of Vetiver plant:
Well-grown plants yield lot of leaf material, which is very good mulch.
Its tender leaves are wonderful fodder for livestock. It enriches the quality and increases the amount of milk.
The leaves are used for thatching roofs. Eco-friendly sheds and houses minimize the use of cement.
The grass blades are a good source of raw material for handicrafts and hand-made paper. Thus Vetiver is a good resource for rural employment.
The root system effectively rejuvenates soil, improving soil fertility. In the course of time, Vetiver will convert fallow lands to fertile lands.
Grown in contaminated or heavy metal water, Vetiver can definitely purify it. This is helpful when industrial sewage water flows onto fertile land.
The aromatic oil distilled from Vetiver root is very expensive, so it has good market potential.
Vetiver roots are considered very good Ayurvedic medicine. They are used in Human and Livestock medicine, curing hyperacidity, piles, bleeding disorders, skin diseases, and urinary tract problems.
Senegalese farmers have found that yield is increased when Vetiver is intercropped with horticultural crops. Farmer Tony Cisse says that augmenting fruit trees with Vetiver conserves water and facilitates the increased absorption of nutrients.
Vetiver withstands hostile climates and situations, and even grows in mine dumps, where it gradually improves the soil. It even grows in waterlogged and coastal areas.
Even if fire destroys the leaves, its roots can generate the shoot system.
Diluted Vetiver oil is a very good pesticide and termite repellent. It can also prevent many plant pathogens. A leaf concoction is also mildly fungicidal.
Vetiver leaves are very good raw material for vermi-composting.
Showing posts with label fireproof. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fireproof. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cane Fire! Vetiver hedges protect sugar cane, too
This is the second story today that I've cockaroached from The Vetiver Network. The following exchange between Dick Grimshaw and John Greenfield addresses the application of the Vetiver System to agriculture dear to Hawaii: sugar cane fields and native forests.
From Dick Grimshaw:
The recent fires in California remind us of its devastation to property and to the local ecology. Often these fires are so hot that they burn off most of the ground vegetation. Recovery is
slow and, during the delay, the land is exposed to rainfall and resulting erosion, high rainfall runoff, and sometimes land slippage.
Plenty of evidence shows that it's difficult to burn green Vetiver. Although Vetiver may burn off, sometimes completely, when it's dry, it recovers quickly within weeks. This enables the hedge to meet its design objectives.
Green vetiver hedges are very dense, and fire has difficulty penetrating them. Under these conditions, the hedge acts as a fire break to slow creeping fires. Where Vetiver in Fiji was grown in conjunction with sugar cane it survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.
On Vanuatu (South Pacific) Vetiver hedges were used to improve moisture and soil fertility to facilitate the replanting of forests destroyed by fire. This successful process is described on the TVNI website. The new forests were also subject to fire; those that were burned recovered quite quickly because the Vetiver started regrowing (ex-hibernation) as soon as the tree canopy was incinerated. The revived hedges reduced erosion and runoff which helped the trees to recover quickly.
Find representative images of this Vetiver recovery at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverNetwork/VetiverSystemsAndFire#
John Greenfield responds:
Dick has made a valid point here: green Vetiver hedges in the tropics are virtually fireproof. Let me make a slight correction to keep the record straight.
Dick reports that Vetiver in Fiji grown in conjunction with sugar cane survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.
Unlike nearly every other cane-growing country, no cane in Fiji was burned before harvesting. If it was, the sugar company penalized the grower, because burned cane results in slightly caramelized sugar that costs more to refine. In Fiji, growers burn the trash generated by the cane harvest. (Like Hawaii,) Fiji has no snakes, or dangerous vermin that would require a pre-harvest fire, but you do have to watch for hornets.
The amazing thing about Vetiver hedges in the cane fields is that, following harvest, the cane grows rapidly and in a matter of months completely shades the vetiver from the light. At the next harvest, (12 months later for ratoon crops ,18 months later for plant crops) the hedge is plunged into full sunlight, then must survive the heat of a trash fire before once again being shaded again by the next ratoon crop. This process repeats for years but doesn’t effect the Vetiver's viability. I don’t know of many plants that can withstand this rough treatment.
From Dick Grimshaw:
The recent fires in California remind us of its devastation to property and to the local ecology. Often these fires are so hot that they burn off most of the ground vegetation. Recovery is
slow and, during the delay, the land is exposed to rainfall and resulting erosion, high rainfall runoff, and sometimes land slippage.
Plenty of evidence shows that it's difficult to burn green Vetiver. Although Vetiver may burn off, sometimes completely, when it's dry, it recovers quickly within weeks. This enables the hedge to meet its design objectives.
Green vetiver hedges are very dense, and fire has difficulty penetrating them. Under these conditions, the hedge acts as a fire break to slow creeping fires. Where Vetiver in Fiji was grown in conjunction with sugar cane it survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.
On Vanuatu (South Pacific) Vetiver hedges were used to improve moisture and soil fertility to facilitate the replanting of forests destroyed by fire. This successful process is described on the TVNI website. The new forests were also subject to fire; those that were burned recovered quite quickly because the Vetiver started regrowing (ex-hibernation) as soon as the tree canopy was incinerated. The revived hedges reduced erosion and runoff which helped the trees to recover quickly.
Find representative images of this Vetiver recovery at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverNetwork/VetiverSystemsAndFire#
John Greenfield responds:
Dick has made a valid point here: green Vetiver hedges in the tropics are virtually fireproof. Let me make a slight correction to keep the record straight.
Dick reports that Vetiver in Fiji grown in conjunction with sugar cane survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.
Unlike nearly every other cane-growing country, no cane in Fiji was burned before harvesting. If it was, the sugar company penalized the grower, because burned cane results in slightly caramelized sugar that costs more to refine. In Fiji, growers burn the trash generated by the cane harvest. (Like Hawaii,) Fiji has no snakes, or dangerous vermin that would require a pre-harvest fire, but you do have to watch for hornets.
The amazing thing about Vetiver hedges in the cane fields is that, following harvest, the cane grows rapidly and in a matter of months completely shades the vetiver from the light. At the next harvest, (12 months later for ratoon crops ,18 months later for plant crops) the hedge is plunged into full sunlight, then must survive the heat of a trash fire before once again being shaded again by the next ratoon crop. This process repeats for years but doesn’t effect the Vetiver's viability. I don’t know of many plants that can withstand this rough treatment.
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