Photo
Subscribe to Farm Radio Weekly

Go to Supporters and Donors Site

1404 Scott Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4M8

Tel: 613-761-3650
Fax: 613-798-0990
Toll-Free: 1-888-773-7717
Email: info@farmradio.org
Web Site: http://farmradio.org/

Radio Scripts

Radio Scripts

Package 31, Script 2
January 1994
Word Count: 800

Grow Your Own Living Fence

Content: Living fences can be good for your crops and animals. They can save you money and increase labour yield.

Living fences are rows of trees or shrubs planted together to form a barrier. They are useful for farmers who need fences to mark boundaries, separate fields, keep animals from straying, form windbreaks, or support vines. Living fences are a good choice for many reasons. They last longer than other types of fences. You can make them with materials you already have on the farm, which decreases your cost. You don't have to cut down any trees to make them: you actually plant more trees! There are many tree species that can be used for living fences.

Fertilizer

A living fence can even be good for your soil. When the tree leaves fall, they form a mulch on the soil. You can prune the small branches and add them to your compost, or mix them with the soil. The rotted leaves and branches release nutrients into the soil that feed your crop. Also, the trees' deep roots can bring up nitrogen and other nutrients from deep in the soil. If the tree is leguminous, there is the possibility that more nitrogen will be added to the soil which increases crop yield. So you save money on nitrogen fertilizer.

Livestock feed

The leaves of some living fence trees can be used as animal feed. Leaves can be mixed in with your animals' regular feed or sometimes animals like to munch the leaves right off the fence. Always check to make sure the leaves of your fence are not poisonous to animals before you use them as feed. For example,the leaves of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) are edible, but poisonous to animals in large amounts.

Food for people

Some species of live fence trees have leaves, flowers, and buds that you can cook and eat. The flowers, pods, and roots of the moringa tree (Moringa oleifera), for instance, can be eaten by people. And of course you can always sell any extra produce you have.

If you live in an area where wood is scarce, living fences can also provide you with firewood. This means that firewood is produced near the farm where it is easy to gather.

How to make a living fence

One way to make a living fence is to grow trees in lines and then attach wire between them. Plant large cuutings or stakes about 2.5 metres long (with 20 40 cm in the ground) wherever you would put posts for a regular fence. They will sprout and grow. If possible, let them get established before attaching the fence wire. If some die, replace them. If you live where rain is uncertain, you might help the posts to sprout by filling the post hole with good soil and keeping it moist.

Some trees or shrubs grown close together can mark a boundary or prevent livestock from getting through. Some examples are papaya, banana, leucaena (Leucaena leucocephela), moringa (Moringaoleifera), and casuarina (Casuarina spp.).

You might want to first build a temporary fence of local plant materials such as bamboo poles. Then establish a live fence inside the temporary fence.

Possible problems

There are disadvantages to living fences, too. For instance, your trees may grow to be too big, and may be lots of work to prune. They may shade crops and compete with crops for nutrients, water and root space. For these reasons, fences need to be controlled.

Good species for living fences

A popular leguminous tree to use as a living fence is gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium). It is a small tree that can be grown from either cuttings or seed. You can take a branch from an old fence post, stick it in the ground and it will grow! It grows a narrow fence with a broad crown. The young leaves, flowers, and buds are often cooked as vegetables.

Izote or yucca (Yucca elephantipes) has a long life, and can be grown easily from cuttings, although it is quite slow growing. In Central America, cuttings of this plant are planted close together. As the plants grow, the spine tipped leaves make a dense wall that is very hard to get through. The large white flowers are edible and decorative. Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) is a small, nitrogen fixing tree that has been used effectively to keep grazing sheep from straying.

Another successful tree is moringa (Moringa oleifera), which grows well in dry weather and grows especially quickly the first year. Planted from closely spaced seed, a moringa fence can be pruned to provide leaves for people or animals to eat. The flowers taste similar to radishes, the pods are delicious vegetables, the roots make a substitute for horseradish when blended with vinegar, and the crushed, dried seeds can purify water when properly processed. These species are popular as living fences, but they aren't the only ones. There are many trees that can be used as living fences. Try to find a local species that meets your needs.

Information Source

Other information sources about living fences

Notes

1. The following excerpt is taken from ILCA Newsletter 2(2) April 1983, International Livestock Centre for Africa.

"The International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) has developed a living fence woven from Leucaena leucocephala that effectively restrains grazing sheep. 'Leuca fence', when used in combination with triangular neck yokes, will help small scale producers integrate their crop and animal production activities and increase their overall productivity.

"Leuca fence is made from closely seeded leucaena trees (5 15cm spacing) that have reached approximately 1 year old (1 3 cm diameter at waist height). The trees are first thinned by cutting about two thirds of them at a height of 1 1.5 m above ground level. During the thinning process, the thickest stems are selected for use as bottom rails. Small branches and stems are then removed from the remaining tall trees with a cutlass or machete.

"Strong branches selected during the thinning process are bent and woven horizontally through the remaining short vertical stems and pushed down to about 10 15 cm above ground level. Rails are overlapped for added strength. The bottom rails for a whole side of the area to be fenced are laid before any further weaving.

"The second, third, and fourth rails are woven in the same way as the first, but the tall trees are notched with a cutlass, bent over to about 20 cm above the previous rail, and again woven horizontally between the shorter vertical stems. Gaps in the short stems can be filled with sticks from the thinned trees. These are pointed at one end and woven through the rails before being driven into the ground.

"When the taller trees are notched and bent instead of cut completely, the majority remain alive, making a permanent, durable, living fence."

Leuca fence has been successfully tested at Ibadan with West African Dwarf sheep. The animals can be fitted with triangular neck yokes to increase the security of the fence still further. The lower leucaena regrowth is grazed, while the upper branches can be periodically thinned and used for cut and carry feed, stakes or firewood."

For more information contact the International Livestock Centre for Africa, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2. At ECHO they are using the moringa tree (Moringa oleifera) as a living fence. They plant moringa trees about two inches apart around the perimeter of the garden. The trunks grow into each other and make a barrier that even a chicken cannot get through. After they reach five feet they are cut back so they do not shade the garden. This is a no cost fence that provides a vegetable at the same time.

APPENDIX: Exceptional species for living fences

(Reprinted from ECHO Technical Note "The living fence: its role on the small farm".)

A description of a few widely used living fence species follows:

Gliricidia sepium (Mother of cacao, madre de cacao, madera negra, mata raton). This small leguminous tree is so well known to farmers in some countries and so useful that it has been given a medal in Honduras. Common from low to medium elevations, the tree prefers a medium rainfall, and is well adjusted to a periodic dry season. The tree can be propagated from branches. An old living fence post will tend to produce a large number of long, narrow branches, perfect for planting. The branches root readily but the rate of growth is moderate. Gliricidia can also be propagated from seed.

A narrow fence with a broad crown is produced. Its lifetime is almost indefinite. The wood of old trunks becomes black and very hard, and so it is useful for many small objects. Animals tend to feed on the foliage, but in fences most forage grows out of their reach. The foliage is a useful feed in moderate amounts but it may be toxic in large amounts. The flowers, buds, and very young leaves are often cooked as vegetables. The dry seeds are poisonous and can be ground and mixed with other grains as a rat poison. Leaf fall occurs during the dry season and the leaves make valuable mulch. The tree was used in the past as a shade tree for cacao and coffee, but now has been replaced by Ingaspecies. If pruned every 3 years a good quantity of firewood is produced. Pruning also results in root dieback and release of nitrogen to the soil.

Erythrina berteroana (Dwarf immortelle, bucar, bucare enano). This leguminous tree is small to medium in size, and is commonly used as a living fence post or a support tree for vine crops. It may be substituted for by other species of Erythrina. The tree is covered with perennial dense foliage. Because the leaves are not lost during the dry season, this tree is best suited for regions with somewhat more rainfall than gliricidia. The shade produced may be excessive for some crops. This tree does best in a slightly wetter region than does gliricidia. Propagation is from large or small branches, usually planted where they will be used. However, seeds can also be used. Growth is moderate to rapid. The fence is narrow with a dense crown. The foliage is attractive to animals and is frequently used for feeding rabbits, sometimes with ill effects.

The wood is soft and of limited use except for fuel. A large amount of useful mulch is produced when the tree is pruned. The seeds are poisonous. This is a favorite shade tree for coffee in Central America.

Yucca elephantipes (Yucca, izote). This is one of the most common plants in living fences in Central America. Cuttings of branches large and small are frequently planted close together. As they grow, the spine tipped leaves make a practically impenetrable wall. The tree is easy to propagate, slow to grow and has a long life. The flowers are edible.

Bursera simaruba (Gumbo limbo, indio desnudo, jinote). This is especially appropriate for dryer areas where gliricidia is not suitable. When it is planted as large posts, it will root even under fairly dry conditions. This tree has few other uses as its wood is soft and short lived.

Moringa oleifera (Drumstick tree, horseradish tree). This "vegetable tree" handles dry seasons well and grows especially quickly the first year. The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan has developed a gardening plan which starts with a pallisade of moringa grown from closely spaced seed. Trees are pruned often at about head height, and the leaves used as a nutritious cooked vegetable or for animal feed. The flowers taste similar to radishes, pencil thin pods are delicious vegetables, roots blended with vinegar make a substitute for horseradish, and the crushed dried seeds purify water.