|
General Indications for Growing Poplar for Energy Purposes
Location of the plantation - The land destined for planting must have certain characteristics. Therefore, once the plot has been located it is necessary to appraise the following conditions:
easy access for the machinery required to harvest, load and transport the wood; optimal conditions of the land so as to enable all mechanical operations to be performed; any electric and/or telephone wires crossing the land; the gradient. Plots are considered easily accessible when they have access roads, passageways for vehicles, bridges and headlands with a minimum width of 5 meters and no obstacles to possible maneuvers of the machinery(1). The land is considered suitable for a plantation when the plot is of even enough shape to allow working along its length for at least 100 meters.
If there are electric power lines in the plots care must be taken to see that the plants cause no damage or difficulty to the wires as they grow. Therefore, cuttings have to be removed from the area directly underneath the wires and this must be done immediately after transplanting. A maximum gradient of 10% is acceptable
Note (1:) Limits may vary if it is planned to cultivate without heavy mechanical equipment but with more manual labor
Typology of the land - Fertile, deep, permeable soil with good ground and surface water, a clay-loam or sandy-clay-loam texture and a PH from sub-acidic to moderately alkaline is preferable. It is better to avoid land that:
is very clayey, that is to say has a clay content higher than 50% in relation to a sand content of at least 25%; is gravelly, that is to say has a coarse skeleton content greater than 35%; is peaty, that is to say has an organic matter content higher than 6% or with high percentages of peat or organic lacustrine deposits; is too acid, with PH lower than 4.5; is too alkaline, with PH higher than 8.5; has a colloids/sand ratio where the latter prevails, situated in climatic areas where annual rainfall levels do not exceed 700 mm during a single season. However, planting can be done even in lands that match these parameters, as long as irrigation is done, particularly during the summer, whenever the first 10/15 cm of soil are dry. has salinity higher than 0.40; has calcareous rock over 20% and 15% active; runs the risk of flooding for more one month; has an area of less than 2 hectares.
Furthermore, in land with risk of water stagnation, optimal drainage must be provided for, through agronomic operations to improve the soil’s permeability (plowing) and drainage of water (convex shaping of the land and ditching). In any event it is necessary to check whether any indigenous poplars are growing in the surrounding area; this is essential to determine the suitability of the habitat for growing poplars in a short cycle. In the event of total absence, or of any doubts regarding the abovementioned characteristics, tests by officially recognized laboratories must be carried out on the land where planting is intended. It is very important to evaluate the type and quantity of weeds beforehand, so as to prepare for weed control, especially if there are widespread or localized infestations, such as Convolvolus arvensis or strong infestations of Artemisia spp, and a reclamation plan should be made before planting.
« Previous page | Next page »
|
