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PostStrip Crop

Vetiver grass hedges can be incorporated into conventional strip cropping layouts to provide additional benefits for controlling soil erosion. Strip cropping arranges crop, stubble, and fallow strips perpendicular to floodwater flow to spread water laterally across fields. Vetiver hedges allow for greater flexibility in cropping and easier land management compared to conventional strip cropping. Vetiver hedges also enhance the spreading of water in dry years or with crops that produce little stubble. Tests showed vetiver hedges can increase cropped land area by up to 30% while also acting as barriers to floodwater flow and trapping sediments.

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20 views

PostStrip Crop

Vetiver grass hedges can be incorporated into conventional strip cropping layouts to provide additional benefits for controlling soil erosion. Strip cropping arranges crop, stubble, and fallow strips perpendicular to floodwater flow to spread water laterally across fields. Vetiver hedges allow for greater flexibility in cropping and easier land management compared to conventional strip cropping. Vetiver hedges also enhance the spreading of water in dry years or with crops that produce little stubble. Tests showed vetiver hedges can increase cropped land area by up to 30% while also acting as barriers to floodwater flow and trapping sediments.

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api-19745097
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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VETIVER GRASS SYSTEM FOR STRIP CROPPING

Paul N. Truong1, Paul A. Dalton2 and Clive D.


Knowles-Jackson3
1Resource Management Institute, Department of Natural Resources,
Indooroopilly, Queensland.
2 Agricultural Engineering, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba,

Queensland.
3 Land Conservation, Department of Natural Resources, Oakey, Queensland.

Strip cropping layout is designed to spread flood water and


reduce soil erosion on low gradient floodplains subject to
deep overland flows. This practice is widely used on the
Darling Downs and NW slopes of New South Wales.
A sequence of crop, stubble and fallow strips of uniform
width are arranged perpendicular to the flood flow direction.
The aim is to spread flood waters laterally to reduce flow
depth, velocity and consequently erosivity of flow.
Typical strip cropping layout on the
floodplain of the Darling Downs. Dense growth retards Deep and extensive root
water flow and traps system binds the soil and
sediments. enhances drought tolerance.
An alternative to conventional strip cropping layout is the
incorporation of Vetiver hedges with the following advantages:
Î greater flexibility to maximise opportunity cropping
Î more easily managed land
Î more effective spreading of water
Î in dry years
Î in crops producing little stubble
( for example cotton, sunflower)
A site at Jondaryan protected by 9 Î upto 30% increase in cropped land
Vetiver hedges (totalling 6 000 m)
at 90m intervals (equivalent to 5 strips).
Hedge hydraulic characteristics Stiff blades provide effective
needed for layout design were barrier to water flow.
determined by flume tests.

A newly established Crop protected by Flood of Nov. 95 Little sign of erosion Young sorghum crop Sorghum crop undamaged
hedge. Vetiver hedge. (600mm depth). in fallow strip. protected from flood flow. by flood.

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