Strategy for Planting Vetiver Grass to Improve the Compact Hard-pan Soil for Growing Plant in Accordance with His Majesty’s Initiative

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to create / to experiment / and to transfer the strategies for improving the compact hard-pan soil suitable for growing plants in accordance with His Majesty’s initiatives. Information used in this study in order to create the strategic platform was obtained through community opinion of 30 farmer families. Strategic experiment was performed with strip cropping design and with 10 species of fruit trees. Five treatments with 2 replications were applied: Treatment 1 (control group), which crops were grown without using vitiver grass. Treatment 2 to 5 (experimental groups), different species of fruit trees were grown with vetiver grass in combination with vegetables and ornament plants in different methods. The collected data during 18 months period were growth characteristics and growth yield along with cost and cash incomes. The success of this participatory research was transferred to 30 farmer families. Research findings revealed that there were significantly differences at the 0.05 level among 5 treatments of vetiver grass. The fruit trees planting without vetiver grass was dead within 6 months where as those planting with the grass grew significantly well, especially in Treatment 2 where the fruit trees were encircled with vetiver grass planting at 80 centimetre radius together with 8 drilled holes inside the circle area planting with 1 vetiver grass per hole, and the area was covered with 15 kilograms of soil mulching materials. In this case, researchers suggested in their report that farmers should improve the hard-pan soil to grow vetiver grass in different combinations with fruit trees together with transferring the technology to farmers throughout the planting period. Again, it was also found that farmers whom received the strategy transfer of growing vetiver grass with fruit trees planting in hard-pan soil had gotten more plant yield and more incomes than that planting without vetiver grass. With optimum moisture applied to the soil, the vetiver grass would improve appropriately the soil condition for plantation of fruit trees in combination with vegetables and ornament plants. This in turn will increase incomes and their economic status.