Vegetable crops
Principle
Hedging is an agroforestry technique consisting of
planting shrubs and trees around and in cultivated
plots. Depending on their density, layout, and
type, they limit insolation and wind, thereby
favouring soil water retention and creating a
micro-climate favourable to crops.
The root system of these plants allows the
absorption and recycling of mineral elements
that have migrated into deep soil layers. Biomass
produced may also be used as organic fertilizer
and mulching vegetable crop beds.
Effects:
Soil Water Plant Landscape
Objectives:
» Limiting damage from wind and / or caused by animal
pasturing
» Creating an environment (hedged landscape)
favourable to crops (humidity, shade, diversity)
» Recycling leached mineral elements
» Availability of usable biomass source on the farm
» Creating ecological habitats conducive to maintaining
agroecological balances
Conditions for implementation:
» Availability of a water source nearby
» Availability of plants favouring quality local varieties
» Availability of tools (shovel or hoe, watering
equipment) and protective equipment for young
plants
Hedging vegetable crops sites
Planting shrubs and trees like living hedges, or sparsely in vegetable crop areas, allows creating hedge
farmland favourable to crop growth.
Living hedges and trees have an effect that is both:
1 / Basics
- protective: they protect crops from damage caused by the wind and / or wandering animals
- regulating: with their shade and windbreak effect, they participate in maintaining humidity in the
soil and improve hygrometry in the dry season and during the rainy season; their deep root system
allows underground water ascent;
- improving: by producing biomass, trees – more particularly leguminous (nitrogen contribution) –
participate in the organic matter cycle directly (mulch decomposition) or indirectly (composting) ;
moreover, their root system allows soil airing (structuring properties of trees such as acacias) and
recycling of mineral elements leached in the soil’s deep layers;
- economical: whether from forest or fruit tree products and sub-products may be used or sold on the
2 / Farming systems
market (fruit, firewood, wood for construction...) .
Hedging provides for significantly increasing cultivated land productivity (number of production
cycles per year, crop diversity and association) and authorizes sustainable intensification of farming
systems without endangering the natural resources used.
Zones Examples of usable species
Acacia senegal (rubber plant), Prosopis
africana, Parkinsonia aculeata,
Dry Calotropis procera (Euphorbia), Agave
sisalana (sisal), Azadirachta indica
(Neem), Jatropha curcas
Crotalaria grahamiana, Cajanus
cajan, Acacia dealbata, Dodonaea
3 / Practices
madagascariensis, Gliricidia sepium,
Wet Leucaena leucocephala, Sesbania
rostrata, Tephrosia candida, Flemingia
congesta, Acacia mangium and
Hedging a vegetable site, Niger auriculiformis
PRACTICES / Vegetable crops / Hedging vegetable crops sites 93
 Method A windbreak hedge
Hedges are rows of shrubs or trees around plots or partitioning large-sized plots. Permeable windbreak The windbreak is permeable to
wind: the air flow through the
1-Various hedge types hedge provides protection from
Wind gusts passing over.
- A windbreak hedge: hedge perpendicular to the dominant wind; it “breaks”
the dominant wind to protect crops.
A windbreak protects crops over a distance behind the hedge of about 10 to
20 times its height (i.e. 20 to 40 m for a 2 m high hedge). No damage to
Sample species: Jatropha, Acacia, Azadirachta (Neem), Parkinsonia, crops
Tephrosia... to be planted in association.
Impermeable windbreak The windbreak is impermeable to
- Protective hedges: generally planted to supplement barriers such as barbed wind: gusts pass over the hedge
wire and chain-link fences, they are composed of thorn trees or species that and fall behind it in a whirling
are not appetizing to wandering animals; they serve to prevent cattle from motion.
entering gardens. Wind
Sample species: Euphorbia, rubber plant, Prosopis, Ziziphus, cactus, sisal...
- Biomass production hedges: generally planted near compost units or plots, they
are periodically trimmed; trimmings are used to produce compost or applied as Damage to
mulch. crops
Sample species: leguminous shrubs, Tephrosia, Leucæna, Flemingia, Gliricidia,
Acacias... Implantation Scheme of hedging in a vegetable farming garden
2-Sizing
The number of plants depends on the type of tree, their purpose, and tree pruning.
Dominant wind
Windbreak
 SOME REFERENCE DATA direction
 Protective hedges are planted around gardens. Biomass production hedges are
planted along cultivated plots. They must be dense: 2 to 3 plants per linear m. Plant
the young trees at a rate of 1 plant every meter in 2 staggered rows. These two rows
are separated by 0.8 m.
 Windbreaks are planted in single lines or double rows. Tree spacing is generally
higher than for protective hedges (1 plant per m2). For double rows, plant staggered
rows spaced 1.5 m apart.
Intermediate live hedge (as needed)
Composting
 NOTE Bed
An overly dense, and therefore impervious, windbreak causes damage to the
Living hedges: protection, hedged landscape, biomass
crops (creating wind eddies).

94 Agrisud - Agroecology, best practices - GUIDE 2010 edition

3-Installing hedges and windbreaks 5-Associations
Hedges may be installed: Beyond simply planting hedges, the producer may benefit from
- by direct sowing (bunches spaced 50 cm to 1 m depending on hedge purpose). complementarities between crops and trees. Tree planting density should
E.g.: moringa, acacia mangium and auriculiformis, leucaena; not hinder crops.
- by cuttings (e.g.: gliricidia);
- by planting in clumps. The trees benefit from the fertilization of the underlying crops, constant
Hedges are planted at the beginning of the rainy season (right after a good humidity due to irrigation, periodic weeding and hoeing (tending).
rain), in order to allow the plant to recover before the dry season. For planting Underlying crops benefit from the trees’ regulating and beneficial effects:
in clumps: shade, mulch, recycling water and leached elements, improving and

- Make a trough about 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm (based on future plant growth);
- Plant the plant maintaining the crown at ground level. In dry areas, leave a
sunken area to collect rain water and keep the soil humid. In humid areas,
plant on mounds. (sunken area at the top of the mound);
- Water if there is low rainfall, watering must be done at least once a week
(twice during the first weeks). The plants will then be able to resist drought;
- Protect the young plants that are not sheltered from wandering animals
(boughs, nets, baskets...).
1 / Basics
protecting soil structure.
Producers may plant various types of trees:
- shrub leguminous (agro-forestry systems): leguminous enriching the soil
with nitrogen (gliricidia, acacia mangium and auriculiformis);
- fruit trees (fruit / vegetable income complementarity): small trees are
recommended inside plots (e.g. guava, pomegranate, citrus), large trees
are placed on the periphery if space permits (e.g. mangos);

2 / Farming systems
4–Tending - fodder trees (crop / livestock complementarity): leguminous species should
be favoured (Faidherbia albida, Glyricidia, Leucaena...).
- Replenish after a month or at the beginning of the following rainy season.
Experience shows that a certain number of plants die during the first year, Specific cases:
so replenishing is necessary; - Moringa:particularly interesting as it can be regularly cut giving it a narrow
- Prune the trees depending on the desired carriage: carriage with numerous branches producing edible leaves;
- Neem: usable for producing bio-pesticides, service wood, and firewood.
Characteristic However, its size should incite producers to control it on the site or confine
Hedge type Pruning
carriage
it to the exterior as a windbreak.
Protective hedge
Bush Pollard regularly to 1.2 – 1.5 m

Cut excess branches to preserve 40% wind

Windbreak High
permeability (visual assessment)

Biomass production
Bush Pollard regularly to 1 – 1.2 m
hedge

3 / Practices
Maintenance trimming (pruning) should generally be done at the beginning
of the rainly season. However, for biomass production and site protection,
Banana tree – okra association Fruit – vegetable association
pruning should be performed periodically based on hedge growth.

PRACTICES / Vegetable crops / Hedging vegetable crops sites 95

 Advantages and Drawbacks
Technical
 Conserves ground water and protects the plant (reducing evapotranspiration)
 Protects from wind and animals
 Increase vegetable matter disponibility for mulching and composting
 Creates a micro-climate conducive to crops
 Allows recycling leached minerals
 Favours soil aeration and improves the soil’s microbial life
 Requires a relatively long implanting, implantation, establishment ? period
(1 to 2 season)
 Requires regular tending
 Space-intensive practice
 Requires land ownership
Windbreak hedge along a vegetable garden, Laos
Economical
 Limits fencing repairs and deterioration by animals (living hedge protection)
 Provides a variety of resources (fruits, wood, bio-pesticides...)  POINTS TO REMEMBER
 Allows extending farming periods and improves yields Hedging plots markedly improves farming conditions (improving soils,
 Allows saving on watering (by reducing evapotranspiration) recycling water and mineral elements, favourable micro-climate) and
 Represents an expense if the plants must be purchased provides diversified products (wood, fruit…).
 Requires signifcant labour (planting, watering, pruning) After planting, protection and supplemental water allow young plants to
Environmental quickly and sustainably get installed. These trees must be tended so they
can play their role: protecting crops, providing biomass...
 Restores plant cover
 Protects against water and wind erosion Fruit trees benefit from the producer tending to underlying crops.
 Limits abusive tree cutting However,the space must be organized in order to ensure that the trees do
 Improve biodiversity (fauna and flora)
not provide too much competition for vegetable crops.
The association of vegetable and fruit crops provides better promotion of
the plot.

 TAKING IT FURTHER
Leaflet: Potted tree nursery (p. 131)
Leaflet: Planting fruit trees (p. 137)
Planting a windbreak, Niger Leaflet: Tending an orchard (p. 141)

96 Agrisud - Agroecology, best practices - GUIDE 2010 edition