Vetiver Grass -- Vetiver photo essay part 1(PE1.htm)

	Vetiver Grass - *Vetiveria zizanioides* A Photo Essay Part 1 --- The Plant
	Vetiver grass is tough perennial clump grass that is as equally at home in wet swampy conditions as it is in well drained upland soils. It is tolerant to a wide range of pH from >3 to >10. Vetiver grass grows best under tropical and semi tropical conditions. It is unlikely to survive continuous frozen conditions. It has strong deep roots and tough dense leaves . Many cultivars of Vetiveria zizanioides do not flower, and thus do not seed. It is not considered a weed, and generally stays where planted. It is tolerant to fire and exhibits quick re-growth.
	The left hand image is a water color of vetiver by Anita Cooper and shows the large vertical root mass together with a dense leaf area. The right hand image shows a close up of a two year old vetiver clump. Note the root structure and dense and strong leaves and stems.The image on the left is a two year old plant in western Panama grown for medicinal purposes. The plant on the right is a single vetiver slip in Vietnam. Vetiver plants are found in most tropical countries because they were introduced roughly 100 years ago as aromatic plants for the extraction of the oil of vetiver. Vetiver is also used as a medicinal plant as for example in Panama. In the young leaf stage vetiver can be used as a useful fodder, if cut regularly. All classes of livestock seem to eat it including horses and grass carp (China). Vetiver leaves also make good thatch and mulch.
	Many cultivars of vetiver, particularly those originating from south India do not flower, and if they do the seed is normally sterile. Some cultivars and varieties, e.g. V. lawsoni, are prolific seeders. Vetiver is normally propagated by dividing the rhyzome into planting slips as shown in photograph above from Vietnam. It is recommended to plant three slips per planting station. This applies to both in field as well as nursery planting. In field planting stations should be at 15 cm apart within the line, and in the nurseries planting stations should be at 30 cm on the square. Vetiver grass' primary use is for soil and water conservation, embankment stabilization and wasteland rehabilitation. For these conservation purposes vetiver grass has to be planted as a hedge, if it is to perform satisfactorily. Hedges are planted on the contour, and if the technology is correctly applied, using good quality plant material, dense hedges will be formed that will slow down rainfall run off, and will trap sediment, resulting in increased ground water and soil moisture, reduced erosion, and better maintained soil fertility. Often crop yields improve sub stantially.
The above three photographs show cross -sections (center and right) of a vetiver hedge as well as longitudinal section (left) through a hedge. In all cases note the dense and strong root structures. The cross section photographs show how the erosion sediment has built up behind the hedges and the subsequent change in slope as natural terraces are formed. In future years runoff velocity will decrease and erosion rates will further be reduced
These two phtographs show the effects of fire on vetiver grass. The left hand image depicts the grass at 1 week after the fire, at the right the grass is fully recovered at 4 weeks.