permaculture

[Marsha Hanzi <hanzibra@svn.com.br>]

Larry London escreveu:

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 09:41:24 -0400
> From: Bob MacGregor <rdmacgregor@gov.pe.ca>
> To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
> Subject: Companion Planting in Africa
>
> Companion planting watchers might find the following article interesting
> reading....
>
> From:  New Scientist, 24 October 1998 p. 25 by Fred Pearce
>
> Farmer's Friend
>
> Grasses that grow wild across Kenya can double yields of maize, Africa's
> most important grain crop.  Trials in which the grasses were grown
> alongside maize have proved so successful that they are about to be
> repeated in three other African countries.

Here in Brazil, Ernst Gotsch, is successfully planting Naiper grass in his 
integrated
agroforest systems, when renewing them ( drastic pruning, planting pineapples 
and
annual crops, letting the trees resprout).  He has had the same positive 
experience :
napier grass groing in the same hole as corn, and the corn the better for it: 
vigorous
and productive.  He does not let the napier grow into a bunch, stripping all 
dryleaves
and curring all old canes and weak sprouts, letting just one vigorous sprout 
per
bunch.  Its the cutting out of old canes and not letting the bunch 
proliferate which
controls the grass to a point where it is a good companion for the annual 
crops. If it
is allowed to age or to spread, it can dominate the system.

Marsha