VETIVER ( kHUS)
Vetiver system applications
For the general benefit of all, the application of Vetiver System is described hereunder:
What is vetiver?
Latin name: Crysopogon zizaniodes, is in the grass family. It is a clumping grass, which produces new young plants around the perimeter of the clump (seeds are mainly sterile)
Physiological characteristics
· Tolerance to extreme climatic variation such as prolonged drought, flood, submergence and extreme temperature from -14ºC to +55ºC.
· Ability to re-grow very quickly after being affected by drought, frosts, salinity and adverse conditions after the weather improves or soil ameliorants added.
· Tolerance to wide range of soil pH from 3.3 to 12.5 without soil amendment.
· High level of tolerance to herbicides and pesticides.
· Highly efficient in absorbing dissolved nutrients such as N and P and heavy metals in polluted water.
· Highly tolerant to growing medium high in acidity, alkalinity, salinity, sodicity and magnesium.
· Highly tolerant to Al, Mn and heavy metals such as As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Hg, Se and Zn in the soils.
Morphological characteristics:
· Vetiver grass does not have stolons or rhizomes. Its massive finely structured root system can grow very fast; in some applications rooting depth can reach 3-4m in the first year. This deep root system makes vetiver plant extremely drought tolerant and difficult to dislodge by strong water currents.
· Stiff and erect stems that can stand up to relatively deep water flows -
· Highly resistance to pests, diseases and fire.
· A dense hedge is formed when planted close together acting as a very effective sediment filter and water spreader.
· New shoots develop from the underground crown making vetiver resistant to fire, frosts, traffic and heavy grazing pressure.
· New roots grow from nodes when buried by trapped sediment. Vetiver will continue to grow up with the deposited silt eventually forming terraces, if trapped sediment is not removed.
Vetiver can be used to:
· Harvest Rainwater – vetiver hedges intercept and retain overland flows (storm runoff) and significantly increase soil-porosity in the root-zone
· Protect Infrastructure – road shoulders/cuttings/banks, causeways, bridges, pathways, canals, drainage systems
· Protect Structures – stabilizes unconsolidated banks and cuttings, mitigates flood damage
· Protect Coastlines – barrier to wind blown sand, grows well in the littoral zone
· Protect Waterways – stabilizes riverbanks, improves water quality (reduces sediment loads) by filtering run-off
· Stabilize SlopingLand – permanent bioengineering solution against sheet erosion, gully erosion and landslides,restoration of mining sites.
· Protect Flood-proneLand – slows down overland flows, traps sediments
· Protect Farmland – stabilizes slopes, riverbanks and flood zones, does not compete with adjacent crops, vetiver is non-invasive
· Sequester Carbon – creates a permanent, massive root system comprised mainly of carbon. Estimates of carbon sequestration have been made, see
· Facilitate Reforestation and Plantation Establishment – increases survival rates and promotes rapid growth of tree seedlings
· Treat Liquid Wastes – nutrient removal via massive, fibrous root system and rapid biomass production, removes other pollutants including some heavy metals in leachates.
Assessing Environmental Benefits:
· Vetiver, in contour hedges or blanket plantings, stops or significantly reduces sheet and gully erosion
· Vetiver hedges can significantly reduce sediment loads in waterways by trapping sediments in runoff and overland flows
· Vetiver plantings can reduce nutrient loads in ground and surface waters eg. leachates from landfills, septic tanks
· Vetiver, in sewage treatment systems (subsurface flow wetlands and leach fields) removes nutrients (and some other pollutants) from wastewater
· Vetiver can facilitate more successful reforestation or plantation establishment. (Note: Once trees have formed a closed canopy and erosion control is no longer necessary, the vetiver will die out)
From the many thousands of native plants and animals available to us, only a very few can successfully be used in agriculture. The same is true about plants for use in environmental management. Many plants have some of the required characteristics but vetiver is unique in the combination of benefits it provides without causing any negative side effects
For more information on Vetiver Grass Technology and Procurement of tillers / slips contact:
SUDHIR PAI
E-mail: sudhir_vpai@yahoo.com
