Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Agroforestry Land
Technologies;
How to Farm Hilly Land
without Losing Soil
Philippines Experience
The Philippines has almost 30 million
ha. In the 1950s almost half of that
(about 16 million ha) was classified as
natural forest. Today, less than 1
million ha of the natural forest remains.
In the same time period, the population
has almost doubled and the marginal
or fragile lands have increased from 2
million ha to 12 million.
Soil Erosion
The greatest problem man will
encounter when forest trees are
extensively cut without replanting,
combined with improper farming of
fragile, sloping lands is soil erosion. The
erosion of topsoilthe thin upper crust
on the earths surface in which man
plants his food cropsis an extremely
serious problem in Asia.
Soil
Soil - the loose material that covers the land surfaces of
Earth and supports the growth of plants. In general, soil is an
unconsolidated, or loose, combination of inorganic and
organic materials.
Soil Profile Descriptions
Soil Profile - A vertical section of the soil extending
vertically through all its horizons and into the parent
material.
Soil Horizon - A layer of soil, approximately parallel to the
surface, with properties that differ from the horizons above
or below it the properties (characteristics) are produced
by soil forming processes.
Soil Layer - A layer in the soil deposited by a geologic force
(wind, water, glaciers, oceans, etc.) and not relating to soil
forming process.
Importance of Topsoil
Soil is the result of gradual weathering of
plants, rock, and minerals. Its formation is
a very slow process that in some
estimates takes place at the rate of 2.5
cm per century. Topsoil is rich and fertile
because of its organic matter content.
Plants and animals die, decay, and are
incorporated into the soil, making it fertile
and capable of supporting the growth of
food crops.
Function of Topsoil
Topsoil stores plant nutrients, air, and
moisture. It is a virtual factory of intense
biological activity; innumerable fungi and
bacteria in topsoil break down organic
matter and make the soil richer. It is,
therefore, essential to agriculutral
production. The nutrients in topsoil are
crucial, as they are the food of plants. So
if the topsoil is lost, you cannot get a
good harvest from your land unless you
use expensive commercial fertilizer. The
best thing you can do, therefore, is to
Controlling Erosion
There are several traditional ways of
controlling soil erosion such as
reforestation, terracing, multiple
cropping, contouring and cover
cropping.
SALT
SALT
SALT is a package technology of soil
conservation and food production,
integrating differing soil conservation
measures in just one setting. Basically,
SALT is a method of growing field and
permanent crops in 3-5 m wide bands
between contoured rows of nitrogen
fixing trees. The nitrogen fixing trees are
thickly planted in double rows to make
hedgerows. When a hedge is 1.5-2 m tall,
it is cut down to about 75 cm and the
History of SALT
SALT was developed on a marginal site in
Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur by the
Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC). In
1971, MBRLC started to employ contour
terraces in its sloping areas. Dialogues with
local upland farmers acquainted the Center
with farm problems and needs which gave the
Center the impetus to work out a relevant and
appropriate upland farming system.
From testing different intercropping schemes
and observing ipil-ipil-based farming systems
in Hawaii and at the Center, the SALT was
finally verified and completed in 1978.
Advantages of SALT
The advantages of SALT are that it is a
simple, applicable, low-cost, and timely
method of farming uplands. It is a
technology developed for Asian farmers
with few tools, little capital, and little
learning in agriculture. Contour lines are
run by using an A-frame transit that any
farmer can learn to make and use. A
farmer can grow varieties of crops he is
familiar with and old farming patterns
can be utilized in the SALT system.
Forms of SALT
Sloping Agriculture Land Technology
(SALT 1)
Sloping Agro-Livestock Technology
(SALT 2)
Sustainable Agroforest Land
Technology (SALT 3)
Small Agrofruit Livelihood Technology
(SALT 4)
Step 2 (continued)
Step 2 (continued)
Step 6 (continued)
Examples of permanent crops include
durian, lanzones, rambutan, coffee,
banana, citrus, cacao, and others of
the same height. Tall crops are planted
at the bottom of the hill while the short
ones are planted at the top. Shadetolerant permanent crops can be
intercropped with the tall crops.
Step 7 (continued)
Strips of short- and medium-term plants, in between strips of longterm crops in SALT.
PART 2
SLOPINGAGROLIVESTOCK
TECHNOLOGY
(SALT-2)
SALT 2
It is classified under the agrosilvipasture scheme of agroforestry in
the sense that it integrates production
of fuelwood (from hedgerows),
agricultural crops, livestock, and
forage.
Step 5:
Construct the goat barn at the middle of
the farm between the boundary of the
"forage garden and agricultural area.
This will save time and labor in hauling
manure out to the farm and in carrying
forage to the goats.
Forage (high-fiber
feeds)
55% Desmodium
rensoni
20% Flemingia congesta
20% Gliricidia septum
5% Leucaena
leucocepha
Part 3
SUSTAINABLEAG
ROFOREST LAND
TECHNOLOGY
(SALT-3)
Step 3
Step 5
ring-weeding
liberation cutting
Pruning
Replanting
Part 4
SMALLAGROFRUIT
LIVELIHOOD
TECHNOLOGY (SALT-4):
A
GUIDE ON HOW TO INTEGRATE FRUIT
TREES INTO THE SALT SYSTEM
Steps:
1. Establish a Nursery Area Located at the
Center Portion of the Farm
To make sure that you have a sufficient
supply of planting materials at lower cost, set
up your own nursery. The nursery must be
near the house and a reliable source of water
and is free from pest and disease problems.
Nursery shed
Materials needed
- watering cans, plastic bags for potting,
several seed boxes, a spray bottle, and cans
for boiling water.
Fruit selection
Seed collection and grafting
Hardening and transplanting
Large planting materials
Plant fruit tree seedlings when they are 911 months old and at the start of the rainy
season. The fruit trees, which will be the
farm's main cash provider in the future,
must occupy about 2/3 of the whole farm
It is recommended that fruit trees with short
production life 1-5 years of fruit production
be planted together with fruit tree species
that have longer production of life (15-50
years of production), especially during the
first year of establishing your SALT 4 farm.
SALT 4
Short-term fruits:
kalamansi (Philippine lime), balimbing,
coffee, and bananas
Long-term fruits:
mango, durian, lanzones, mangosteen
and the like.
Fruits
Asexual Propagation
Atis
2-4 years
1.5-2 years
Avocado
4-8 years
Balimbing
4-6 years
2-3 years
Caimito
5-6 years
3-4 years
Cashew
3-4 years
Chico
6-10 years
3-5 years
Durian
7-8 years
5-6 years
Guava
4-6 years
2-3 years
Guyabano
3-5 years
2-3 years
Lanzones
12-15 years
Jackfruit
6-8 years
Mango
5-7 years
Mangosteen
10-15 years
7-9 years
Marang
4-6 years
Pili
5-4 years
2-3 years
Rambutan
5-6 years
3-4 years
Rimas
8-10 years
3-4 years
Santol
5-7 years
Siniguelas
Weeding
pruning of hedgerows
planting hedgerow skips
replanting
controlling of pests and diseases
Cultural practices
Replant fruit trees that have died. Pruning is also needed
by some fruit trees. Bagging of young fruits, such as
jackfruit and mango, protects them against pests and
diseases. Maintain your supply of nursery seedlings.
Collect the seeds and grow them in your nursery. Take the
scions and cuttings from healthy, high quality fruit trees.
You may sell some of the seedlings to interested farmers
and individuals.
Pest management
If fruit production is greatly affected by pests and diseases,
spray the fruit trees with recommended chemical.
Generally though, by having alternating species, healthy
seedlings, proper spacing, and good fertilization, most
pests and diseases will not greatly affect your fruit
harvests. It is much easier to prevent pests and diseases
than to treat them.
Fertilization
Fruit trees produce fruits even without fertilizer.
But for high yields and quality, it is best to
fertilize the fruit trees with manure and/or
commercial fertilizer. As soil fertility is different
in each area, it is not possible to give specific
fertilizer needs. In addition, different fruit tree
species require different amount of fertilizer.
When fertilizing fruit trees, place the fertilizer in
a ring around the trunk 20 centimeters away. On
older trees, place the fertilizer at the leaf drop.
Fruit trees
Distance (m)
8-10
5-7
2-3
8-9
7-9
10-12
4x4
8-10
5-7
8-10
3x3
30 x 60 x 90**
8-12
7-9
Fruit intercrops
Cash crop intercrops
Mango, chico, citrus,
Annual field crops and
pineapple and papaya vegetables
Corn, mung beans,
Papaya, pineapple, and
peanut, eggplant or
banana
sweet potato
Corn, mung beans,
peanut, eggplant or
sweet potato
Banana, lanzones and Corn, root crops and
coffee
other annual crops
Banana, papaya and
Some annual field
pineapple
crops and vegetables
Banana, papaya,
Peanut and other
pineapple, calamansi
legumes
and atis
Corn, mung beans or
Banana and pineapple
peanut
Vegetable and short
term crops
Short-term crops
Lanzones
Mango
Mangosteen
Marang
Short-term crops
Short-term crops
Pili
Rambutan
Rimas
Santol
Siniguelas
Jackfruit
Source: Coronel, R. E.
(1983). Promising Fruits of
the Philippines.
The end!!!