Growing the Wonder Trees of the Schools Green Initiative Challenge

Economic and efficient watering can be done by drip-irrigation, for instance with a plastic bottle put close to the seedling stem. The bottles are put upside-down, slanted, with their top punctured to allow the dripping, and the bottom partly cut, to allow regular refilling.

Mukau needs full sunlight for its development. The minimum spacing should be 4 meters, although complete agroforestry practices require a spacing of seven to ten meters. Initial growth is fast and soon the branches of neighbouring trees start competing with each other, and then the growth slows down. At a spacing of 4 meters, this competition sets in after some four to five years.

In the conditions of 7-Forks, the total process of seedling production, between sowing and obtaining seedlings of plantable size (one foot high) takes about three to three-and-a-half months. To shorten the process, farmers often collect root suckers from existing trees, and plant them in their farms.

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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer