Amazing traditional phytopractices for today and tomorrow

We present, republish and extend here a fascinating article by Francis Hallé that highlights the wealth of botanical knowledge and arboricultural and horticultural know-how of peasant communities in tropical areas.

Amazing traditional phytopractices for today and tomorrow

This article provides access to the research on traditional tropical plant practices initiated by Francis Hallé and published in 1996 in the second volume of the book: Food in the Tropical Forest: Biocultural Interactions and Development Perspectives.

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We are reprinting this fascinating article, which highlights the wealth of botanical knowledge and arboricultural and horticultural know-how of peasant communities in the tropics.

Until now, this heritage has not received the attention it deserves. By ignoring and despising the knowledge and know-how called traditional, the Western complacency of so-called moderns has long deprived the human community of a treasure. Francis Hallé and other researchers such as Kees Stiger have contributed to the recognition of the value of this knowledge and have set in motion a whole movement of research on "indigenous knowledge".

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In this context, UNESCO has supported the work of collecting this knowledge and has allowed the publication of works presenting its contents. Thus, in 2002, a collection of remarkable practices was published under the title Best Practices using Indigenous Knowledge .

This heritage of technical practices and phytopractices resonates with the emerging sensitivity to low technology, biomimicry, agroecology, and permaculture.

The reader will find below the full article by Francis Hallé "The discovery of traditional tropical plant practices" as well as drawings by this remarkable botanist.

We have taken the liberty of adding some additional notes in italics in boxes, enriching the text with additional photographs, and adding to Francis Hallé’s article some quite remarkable phytopratices and contemporary revivals of ancient practices.

In the bibliography at the end of the article, we also provide links to the pdf documents of the two volumes of Food in the Tropical Forest - Biocultural Interactions and Development Perspectives. The original article by Francis Hallé is in the second volume, pp. 1061-1680.

The Discovery of Traditional Tropical Plant Practices

Francis Hallé

Introduction

A discussion of a technical nature between a farmer in a tropical forest region and a tropical botanist, when based on an exchange of knowledge, can lead to unexpected and interesting results. I have had the opportunity to exchange plant practices with farmers in several tropical regions, and I would like to testify here to the value of this method of inquiry.

History

Since the 1970s, we have built up a collection of traditional plant practices at the Laboratory of Tropical Botany of Montpellier II, enriched by contacts with other tropicalists, among whom Professor Kees Stigter of the Agricultural University of Wageningen occupies a prominent place. In 1980, Kees Stigter launched a competition in the Dar es Salaam Daily News, offering a prize to the reader who could point out the best traditional Tanzanian practice of microclimate manipulation to improve crop yields. The success of this competition led to the launch of an ambitious program in 1985 to identify traditional methods for improving agricultural microclimates. The Traditional Techniques of Microclimate Improvement (TTMI) program is headed by Kees Stigter.

Au centre le Professeur Kees Stigter sur le terrain avec des paysans en Indonésie. A gauche et à droite, deux de ses ouvrages

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In 1987, the University of Iowa (USA) founded CIKARD (Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development), whose mission was to help Third World countries increase their agricultural yields without degrading their environment by combining traditional practices with the latest agronomic improvements. CIKARD News then became the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, which was published in 1993.

In Montpellier, we had collected a sufficient number of phytopractices to start fine-tuning them. Yildiz Aumeeruddy and Florence Pinglo were responsible for writing a first collection, which was published by UNESCO (1989). Research on traditional tropical plant practices was continued by Savouré (1988) and then by Hewindati (1991, 1995), an Indonesian scientist whose work finally opened the way to a direct dialogue between scientists and farmers, reducing linguistic and psychological problems to a minimum. Twenty-five years of research by several groups of researchers among peasant communities in a large number of tropical regions have made it possible to group together a number of traditional phytopractices... of which I would like to give an idea with the help of a few examples. A first group of practices (1 to 5) aims at facilitating the use of cultivated plants and thus at simplifying the daily life of the farmer.

1 - Grafting to increase the precocity of fruit trees (Thailand, Brazil, Central America)

Fruit trees often have a long sterile juvenile period, which can be discouraging for the farmer, but an adapted practice allows to reduce the duration of this period. The durian, an extremely important fruit tree in Asia, has a sterile period of eight years; the adult tree is also 30 meters high, which makes harvesting difficult.

Figure 1 shows the type of grafting used in Thailand. A seedling is grafted under a branch of a mature tree that has already produced abundant fruit. When the graft is removed, a seedling of mixed structure is obtained, with a juvenile base and a mature top. In accordance with current concepts of morphogenetic movement in perennial plants (Nozeran, 1986), the resulting tree bears fruit in four years; it is also reduced in height, which facilitates harvesting.

Figure 1 : La greffe entre une plantule et la branche d’un arbre adulte accroît la précocité d’un fruitier (Indonésie, Brésil).

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Tropical farmers interested in fruit trees have on several occasions developed the same technical solution to the earliness problem, and it is likely that the experiments were carried out independently; in fact, the same phytopractice is applied to mamey in Central America (Aumeeruddy and Pinglo, 1989) and to castanha do para in the Brazilian Amazon (Jean Dubois, pers. comm., 1982)..

2- Root trauma to make jackfruit more accessible (Thailand)

Jackfruit is an Asian fruit tree whose huge fruits - up to 80 cm long - are scattered on the trunk and at the base of branches, often in inaccessible positions (Hewindati, 1995).

Jaquier à Singapour

A Thai practice (Songkhla Province; Kheow Vongsri Pramoth, pers. comm., 1991) is to plant the young jackfruit over a flat stone or metal obstacle, so that the growth of the pivot is tightly restricted. This would result in a jackfruit tree whose fruits are all located at the base of the trunk , thus within easy reach.

Figure 2 : Empêcher la croissance du pivot peut modifier la position des fleurs chez un arbre cauliflore (Thaïlande)

This is a typical case of phytopractice for which there is neither an explanatory hypothesis, as current biology does not establish any relationship between root growth and cauliflora, nor "scientific" confirmation until this practice has been the subject of experimental verification.

3 - Root trauma to make citrus fruit more accessible (China)

Aubert (1990) reports that in Shan Tou (Guangdong Province, tropical China), citrus growers deliberately roll up the pivot of young lemon trees during planting.

The effect is said to be twofold: better use of fertiliser thanks to shallow rooting, and reduced tree growth for easier harvesting. Hated by foresters, rolled pivots are thus an interesting phytopractice in citrus growing.

Figure 3: Rolling up the pivot reduces the height of a fruit tree, thus facilitating the harvest (China)

4 - The "caesarian" of the banana tree (Thailand)

Pramoth Kheow Vongsri (pers. comm. 1991) practises "caesarian" on a Thai banana cultivar whose great height and fragility make harvesting difficult: it is not possible to lean a ladder on the trunk to access the bunches.

As the inflorescence primordium rises inside the trunk, Pramoth interposes a machete and then a bamboo blade, the inclination of which deflects the inflorescence outwards. With the leaf blades intact, the bananas are the same size and taste as when they are in their normal position, but the ’caesarean’ puts them within reach (Hewindati, 1995) (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Deflecting the inflorescence, without injuring the leaf blades, brings the banana bunch within reach (Thailand)

5 - Square bamboo (Japan. Philippines)

Although it is not a practice for food purposes, I thought it would be interesting to recall that it is possible to recall that square-section bamboos can be obtained by passing the young growing shoots through a mould made of four boards (figure 5).

This practice, often described (Austin and Veda, 1977; Farrelly, 1984; Lapis and aL., 1986; Aumeeruddy and Pinglo, 1989), yields bamboos suitable for scaffolding construction.

Figure 5: Moulding of bamboo shoots is intended to make square culms, used in construction (Philippines)

6 - A practice to facilitate the growth of yam tubers (Madagascar)

A hole is dug in which a banana trunk is buried vertically. On the surface, the yam tuber cutting is placed and the whole is covered with soil (figure 6) (Hewindati, 1995). The decomposition of the banana trunk creates a rich, moist and easily penetrable medium. The yam tubers reach 1 metre in length. This simple and modest practice was reported to me by the students of the Centre Universitaire Régional de Mahajanga (pers. comm., 1990).

Figure 6: Burying the banana trunk in the soil and growing the yam in it, increases the size of the tubers (Madagascar).

7 - Trauma to increase sago palm production (New Guinea)

The sago palm is a palm of the forest swamps of Asia and Melanesia. The terminal flowering, which is enormous and lethal, corresponds to the disappearance of the starch reserves accumulated in the pith, followed by the death of the trunk concerned.

Just before flowering, the trunk is felled and split lengthwise, from which 100-150 kg of starch is removed for use in food (see Ulijaszek and Poraituk, 1996, chapter 26 of this book).

Jacques Barrau (1959, 1962) states that in Papua, the inhabitants remove the apical inflorescence when it is in its early stages. Since it cannot flower, the palm continues to accumulate starch and production can reach 400-500 kg per trunk (Aumeeruddy and Pinglo, 1989).

A sago palm being harvested for sago production in Papua New Guinea (Toksave / CC BY-SA 3

8 - A practice to increase the production of the sugar date palm (Bangladesh)

This wild date palm is exploited for the sap from its inflorescences which is used as a drink or as a source of sugar.

silver date palm, Indian date, sugar date palm or wild date palm, (Phoenix sylvestris). The sap is extracted from the top of the palm tree can be drunk directly as palm juice, but is usually boiled to make sugar or fermented and distilled to produce a strong alcohol. The leaves are used to make mats and baskets. The fruits and seeds are edible. The palm is also widely grown as an ornamental plant

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In Pabna district, Bangladesh, according to Abdul Momin (Torquebiau, pers. comm., 1991), farmers place clods of soil in the leaf axils of this palm, from the time its trunk becomes visible until it becomes mature (Figure 7).

Does the weight of these clods, by spreading the leaves, allow them to capture more light? Can the nutrients in the root ball enter the plant directly through the leaf axils during rainfall? In any case, tree growth and sap production are improved by 50-100% (Hewindati, 1995).

Figure 7: The feeding of the sugar date tree is improved by placing clods of soil in its leaf axils. The untreated control is in the centre of this figure (Bangladesh).

9 - Welding of trees to accelerate growth and increase earliness of fruit trees (Thailand, Indonesia)

Two to four seeds of the same tree species are germinated within 20 cm of each other. When the seedlings are about 80 cm high, they are tied together until the stems are completely fused; a slight wound in the cortex often facilitates fusion (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Welding of seedlings results in trees with multiple root systems and accelerated growth (Thailand).

It then remains to eliminate the weakest tops, keeping the one that seems most promising. The resulting tree has several root systems and is therefore very fast-growing, which is advantageous in the case of a timber tree.

If it is a fruit tree, it reaches sexual maturity quickly and its vigour protects it from pathogens. Quantitative aspects are lacking at present; they are being studied in Côte d’Ivoire (Atindehou Kagoyiré, pers. comm., 1993).

Plants of fruit trees treated in this way can be bought on the Bangkok market: citrus, durian, carambola, mango, jackfruit and tamarind. According to Aumeeruddy et al (1989), it is likely that most woody dicotyledons could be subject to seedling fusion.

NB. For the technique to be successful it is important to remove the stem bark only at the contact zone of the three plants, otherwise they will die.

10 - A practice to increase the number of tubers in cassava (Indonesia)

Tubercules de manioc
Tubercules de manioc

Farmers in the Batu region, Malang (East Java) have the following phytopractice: the cassava plant is subjected to a ring-shaped incision located at the base of its trunk, about 10 cm above the soil surface (figure 9). The base of the plant is then covered with rich, loose soil.

Figure 9: An incision at the base of the trunk, covered with soil, increases the number of cassava tubers (Java).

The plant responds by emitting roots from the upper lip of the incision, which change into tubers. A second group of tubers emerges above the first. According to Hewindati (1995) who noted this technique in Java, the second group of tubers is larger than the first, probably due to better soil aeration.

11 - The potato tower (origin not specified)

The "tower" is made of wire mesh, like the one used for chicken coops. It is one metre high and one metre in diameter, with a potato tuber buried in the ground at the centre of its circular base. As the plant grows, the tower is filled with light fertile soil without burying the growing top. The plant responds by continuing its upward elongation, and the farmer continues to fill the tower, taking care never to bury the young leaves.

The burial of each leaf axil triggers the growth of tuber-bearing axillary runners (figure 10). At the end of the growing season, the tower is full and up to 100 kg of potatoes can be harvested (Robert Morez, pers. comm., 1991; Hewindati, 1995).

The origin of this plant is thought to be Syria or Israel; no certainty could be obtained on this subject. It was successfully tested at CIEPAD (Carrefour International d’Echanges de Pratiques Appliquées au Développement; 34380 Viols-le-Fort, France).

Figure 10: The potato tower: by burying the axillary meristems of the plant, the production of additional tubers is triggered.

12 - The Mukibat technique (Indonesia)

The invention of this remarkable phytopractice is attributed to Bapak Mukibat, a farmer from the village of Ngadiloyo, in East Java, in 1952 (De Bruijn and Dharmaputra, 1974).

It consists in grafting two cassava species, one of which is a tree and the other a tuberous shrub. The mixed individual that is made draws its vigour from one of the partners and, from the other, its capacity to tuberise (Hallé, 1993).

Figure 11: Grafting tree cassava onto an ordinary cassava cutting produces giant tubers (Java).

Figure 11 shows this association of tree cassava with regular cassava; unlike most of these associations, it is the rootstock and not the scion that is modified: the result is a tree with giant tubers, whose life span is extended to 18 months, and whose yield reaches 96 tons of tubers per hectare per year, i.e. ten times the usual yield. The maximum observed is 195 kg per plant; the tubers obtained by the Mukibat technique are fit for consumption and their organoleptic qualities are normal.

The Mukibat technique has been successfully tested in Côte d’Ivoire (Dizes, 1977). It has had precedents in Europe with grafting of peony tree onto peony herbaceous (Jacques, 1834) and is practised in Indonesia on sweet potato (Boimau, 1982).

Manihot glaziovii et Manihot esculenta

13 - A practice aimed at obtaining, in the snake gourd, heavy and straight fruits (Sri Lanka, Indonesia)

The vine known by the English name "Snake Gourd" is native to tropical Asia and is commonly planted there for its rapid growth and for its very long fruits used in food.

Patole ou Gourde serpent (Trichosanthes cucumerina)

In Sri Lanka, the vine is installed on a kind of arbor, on which it spreads about two metres above the ground (Figure 12). Sinhalese farmers attach a stone to the tip of the young growing fruit and Mac Millan (1991) believes that this practice is intended to produce straight fruit, rather than the spiral or curved fruit found in the wild.

Figure 12: Subjecting the young fruit to steadily increasing tension produces "snake gourds" that reach two metres in length (Sri Lanka).

It seems that this practice is more ambitious than Mac Millan thinks and is also intended to increase production (Kotalawala, pers.comm., 1987). The young fruit, under the effect of weight, would react by accumulating more water and nutrients; fruits treated in this way reach two metres in length. Hewindati (1995) reports the same practice in Java.

14 - A practice to increase the size of gourds (Sri Lanka)

In the dry zone of Sri Lanka, squash sometimes cannot grow normally without water. Rather than watering the plant, farmers find it more effective to place a container full of water near each fruit, and to install a cloth wick between the container and the fruit stalk (Figure 13). According to Kotalawala (pers. comm., 1987), the water rises by capillary action and the fruit shows very rapid growth (Hewindati, 1995).

Figure 13: Rather than watering the plant, it is more effective to promote the growth of a cucurbit with a wick through the stalk (Sri Lanka).

Finally, three miscellaneous practices (15 to 17) have been added in order to highlight the variety and richness of the field of application of traditional knowledge.

15 - Fountain trees (Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands, Sultanate of Oman, Peru, Chile)

The garoé tree of the island of Hierro - a tree that appears in the coat of arms of this island - was studied by Gioda et al. (1992). This tree grows in a region where rain is rare, but where fog abounds, driven by a very strong trade wind: "If driven by a strong wind, the fog precipitates on any object in between" (Gioda et al.). An isolated garoé constitutes an obstacle on which the fog precipitates; the water runs off and, at the base of the trunk, it is collected in a cistern; thus travellers passing through or villages in the region are supplied with water.

This is a purely physical phenomenon, and the nature of the tree does not matter; in the Cape Verde Islands, fog collectors are fourcroyas, which provide up to 20 litres of water per day (Acosta Baladon, 1973; Savouré, 1988). In Oman, where the fountain trees are olive trees, the daily production is 60 litres per tree.

One of the fountain trees on the island of El Hierro in the Canary archipelago appears in the local coat of arms. The fountain trees were described as holy trees by Bartolomé de Las Casas. A representation of the Holy Fountain Tree can be found in Volume 3 of the Description of the Universe, published in Paris in 1683. Its author, Manesson Mallet, who never had such trees, was inspired by the stories and the imagination generated by the fountain tree to have the above engraving executed.

On the island of El Hierro, a former head ranger, Don Zósimo Hernández, undertook in the mid-twentieth century to take up the technique of the island’s first inhabitants, the Guanches of Berber origin, and replant fountain trees, after a great period of drought that overwhelmed the island and remained in local memory as the "año de la seca".

The Garoé, whose name means "river" or "lagoon" in the Amaziq language, is a laurel endemic to the Canary Islands that botanists call Ocotea foetens. This Madeira laurel is not the only species of fountain tree in the Canary Islands, in the Cape Verde Islands or elsewhere in the coastal deserts of Peru and Chile, or in Eritrea for example. Sea juniper Jupinerus canariensis, Canary laurel Laurus azorica, Tree heather Erica arborea, Olive tree (Olea europaea), Henequen (Agave fourcroydes) and other trees can be fountain trees

More than a specific species, good fog water capture depends on the location of the trees. The best sites are the passes of the coastal ranges facing the sea, which they dominate like a balcony. In Cape Verde, Henequen trees (Agave fourcroydes) can capture 20 litres of water per day when used as "fountain trees". In Oman, olive trees can produce 60 litres of water per tree per day.

Olivier devenu arbre fontaine. Santiago du Chili

In Chile, fountain trees are being replaced by inert collectors (mosquito nets) that supply water to villages (Gioda et al., 1992). This confirms that it is not a biological mechanism.

16 - A method to control leafcutter ants (Brazil)

Leafcutter ants (Atta) represent a very serious handicap for food agriculture in the forested countries of tropical America. A plot of land can be completely de-leafed in a few hours, and doomed to an inevitable death. Hence the interest of the Atta ant control methods developed by the Kayapó Indians of Amazonia; they introduce into their crop plots the nests of other ant species, harmless to the plants, but which keep the leaf-cutting ants away (see Altieri, 1990, for a review of all traditional predator and pest control practices).

17- Macroforesting of useful trees (Pantropical)

Widespread among farming communities in tropical Africa, America and Asia, macrobouting allows trees to multiply with a high success rate, while ensuring rapid growth.

Macro-cuttings are poles of 2 to 5 metres in height and 10 to 30 cm in diameter. They are taken, as shown in Figure 68.15, from particular areas of the tree to be propagated.

The use of a growth medium to facilitate rhizogenesis may be advisable. Placed vertically in fertile soil, the macro-crop produces a vigorous shoot, thanks to the large amount of water and reserves it contains, which then develops into a fast-growing tree. Maintenance is virtually nil and weeding is unnecessary.

Figure 15: Macro-cuttings (the best collection sites are shown on the left) are a quick and easy way to multiply trees, without adventitious vegetation (hatched) interfering with their growth (Pantropical).

Many tropical trees can be propagated by the microcuttings technique, an African euphorbia used for firewood (Anonymous, 1985), pochote from Costa Rica (Jolin, 1985); erythrines (Budowski and Russo, 1986); amvut or ’Pahouin grape’ from Gabon, as well as other fruit trees from the Gabonese forest (Bourobou-Bourobou, 1994), narra from the Philippines (Dalmacio et al, 1977), teak, padauk, balsa, fig, dragon, mombin plum, kapok, cashew, etc.

Macro-cuttings develop spontaneously when the poles of the huts are planted quickly after cutting. The start of vegetation on poles used in construction in tropical forest regions is frequently observed.

These spontaneous macro-rotations mark the location of old villages because they develop as soon as the buildings are renewed and the trees from these unintentional plantings can form a large part of the vegetation of old villages.

Ideal for rapid reforestation, macro-tree planting has attracted the attention of logging and oil companies (Ericsson and Michaloud, 1994), as well as the general public press (Bruyère, 1994).

Clôtures vives de Gliciridia Saule et Nono (Morinda citrifolia)

Macro-branching is also commonly used to make live fences as shown in the photographs above.

Discussion and conclusion

In spite of the geographical dispersion (Africa, America, Asia), traditional tropical phytopratices have a number of points in common.

They are simple and require only easily accessible equipment (machete, string, flat stone, board or wire mesh). On the other hand, because they involve individual treatments of each plant, they are labour-intensive.

They require a very good knowledge of the plant and its growth; they give rapid, often spectacular results. They must be applied again each growing season.

They are part of the tradition of combined cropping and agroforestry, which is still strong in many tropical countries. Many of them (1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 15) originate from Asian agroforests.

They are in line with the mentality of tropical farmers, as well as with their socio-economic possibilities. Some practices (1, 14, 15, 16) seem to have been invented independently in different regions of the tropical world, which reflects the appropriateness of the farmers’ mentality at low latitudes and suggests the ease of transfer from one continent to another.

Phytopractices are only one element of a vast know-how that also concerns hunting and fishing, handicrafts, construction techniques, irrigation, navigation, music and medicine, etc. This technological capital is the most valuable resource for tropical countries.

Safeguarding local know-how, rehabilitating it in the eyes of those who use it, promoting, describing and publishing it, and transferring it from one tropical continent to another, is what enlightened cooperation could include in its priorities.

Postface
Other notable phytopractices

Daisugi, forestry practice derived from the art of bonsai

The phytopractice known as Daisugi was developed in the 14th century by the people of the Kitayama region of Japan. This technique derived from the art of Bonsai, which allows the production of wood without having to cut down trees, would have been used to solve the problem of the shortage of seedlings. In fact, in an essentially mountainous country, there is very little flat land suitable for growing timber and planting trees on steep slopes is extremely difficult. Daisugi has enabled tree growers to reduce the number of plantations, but also to speed up the harvesting cycle and produce denser wood.

Daisugi is composed of the words "cedar" ("sugi") and "table" ("dai"). Daisugi literally means ’table cedar’. As seen in the photograph above this tree technique gives the impression that slender cedars have been placed on a low table of smaller cedars.

In daisugi, the cedar is pruned in a very particular way, so that it forms a giant bonsai tree that generates straight vertical branches. A single daisugi cedar can grow dozens of such branches, whose wood is more flexible than that of the rooted cedar, yet twice as strong and dense. The stump cedar can live for several centuries.

The topping techniques, those of the trognes and coppicing, which have been used in Europe since ancient times, are similar to the practice of Daisugi.

With the coppicing technique, the shoots of the deciduous stumps are regularly pruned. After being cut, the tree stump generates strands that are clear-cut when they have reached acceptable dimensions. New strands will appear again after this cut and this cycle can be used until the stump is exhausted.

Domestication of yams

In the wild, yam tubers grow to a depth of up to 1-2 m making it very difficult to harvest. To solve this problem, Malagasy farmers bury easily degradable plant material such as a banana trunk, a bale of maize straw or harvest residues in a horizontal position and then plant the apex of wild yam tubers on it. In this way the growth axis of the tuber will be guided to the horizontal position, which will facilitate harvesting. It is possible to "domesticate" by this technique the majority of yam varieties of the genus Dioscorea (D. maciba, D. antaly, D. bemandry, ...).

Ignames

Producing better Mangoes, Jacques and lemons

In Madagascar, some arborists make machete cuts in the tree trunk to enable mango trees (and other fruit trees such as jackfruit (Arthocarpus integrifolia) and lemon (Citrus limonium L.) to produce better fruit.

Mangues

According to the communities that practice this technique:

- the mango borne by the mango tree thus treated would no longer have that irritating sap which usually causes sores on the cheeks of children ;

- the jackfruit would no longer have that unpleasant gum that sticks all over the hand

- the lemon would be juicier and yet well sized.

The explanation of the peasants is as follows: "in October, the plant is wounded so that it evacuates its sap and gum which are not good for the quality of the fruit".

Induce early flowering of mango trees

In Sulawesi, Indonesia, some farmers tie the trunk of mango trees when they are at an early stage. Apparently, this trauma induces early flowering.

Producing clusters of jackfruit

The jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) usually bears its large fruits (up to 80 cm long) on the trunk and main branches, high up in the tree. In Songkhla province in Thailand, the young jackfruit tree is planted on a large stone or metal plate, thus blocking the growth of the taproot of the tree. As a result, the fruits grow in clusters around the base of the trunk.

Easier citrus production and harvesting

In China, citrus growers make it easier to harvest the fruit by wrapping the roots of a fruit tree around them before planting. This technique allows for better absorption of fertilizer by the fine superficial roots. It also reduces the height of the tree, making it easier to pick the fruit.

Easily ripening banana trees

In Madagascar, the young banana plant, torn from a mother stump, is placed for one or two nights (with its roots bare) in a shady spot before transplanting. Without this, growers say, bananas ripen with difficulty through artificial ripening processes. Farmers explain that the young banana tree must first be helped to remove the "dirty water" (rano ratsy) from the mother plant before being planted.

Malagasy farmers also accelerate the ripening of the banana bunch by removing the remaining male inflorescence cone in good time, which consume the nutrients that should command the ripening of the fruit."

Source : Francis Hallé, _Nature and Resources, Volume 32 Number 3 (1996), page 5 © UNESCO

Régime avec et sans fleur mâle

Water conservation in Baobab trees

In some regions where the baobab is endemic, local people use the very large and old baobabs that are hollow as a reserve and rainwater tanks during the dry seasons. A window is then dug 4 metres high and this tank is filled by humans during the rainy season. These then benefit from 9 m³ of water during the long dry season.

Purification of turbid waters

In northern Sudan, where flooding of the Nile sometimes makes its water unsafe to drink because of mud and faecal bacteria, the crushed Moringa seeds are used to make the water clear and safe to drink. The crushed seeds have a flocculating power that coagulates impurities while an antibiotic substance in the oil removes 98% of the bacteria. This use is economical, and health-wise it is more effective than the aluminium sulphate used in Europe.

For a review of traditional water purification practices read the article "Purifying water with environmental resources"

The phytopractices described here are only a small part of the know-how and knowledge developed over the centuries by farming communities on all continents.

To go further, the reader can refer to the section Linking traditional and contemporary knowledge, which is destined to become a library of remarkable traditional practices and includes the following articles:

- Purifying water with environmental resources->15]

- Traditional plant salts

- Rwandan agriculture and beehives

Other remarkable techniques are also described on the Rebel Life website:

- Floating gardens of Bangladesh->12]

- Milpa and Mayan forest-gardens

- Irrigation with buried jars

The book coordinated by Éric Mollard and Annie Walter Agricultures singulières offers an amazing review of traditional farming systems developed to meet the constraints of agricultural contexts around the world.

The book by Boven (Nuffic) and Karin, Morohashi Jun (UNESCO/MOST) Best Practices using Indigenous Knowledge provides an overview of remarkable techniques.

References

Altrieri, M.A. (1990). The ecology and management of insect pests in traditional agroecosystems. In Ethnobiology: implications and applications. pp. 131-144, (Belem, Brasil : Museu Emilio Goeldi)

Anonyme (1985). Guide pratique de multiplication par bouturage de Euphorbia balsamifera. (Niamey, Niger: Direction des flores et faunes)

Aumeeruddy Yildiz-Thomas et Pinglo Florence, Phytopratiques pour les régions tropicales [1987] - Phytopratiques pour les régions tropicales. - UNESCO – MAB Paris (France). MAB. Man and the Biosphere, Laboratoire de Botanique, USTL, Montpellier/ France, 112 p.

Aumeeruddy Yildiz-Thomas et Pinglo Florence, Florence Pinglo Phytopractices in tropical regions. A preliminary survey of traditional crop improvement techniques [1988]. - UNESCO – MAB Paris (France). MAB. Man and the Biosphere, Laboratoire de Botanique, USTL, Montpellier/ France, 112 p.

Aumeeruddy, Y. et Pinglo, F., 1989. Phytopraetices in tropical regions. A preliminory survey of traditional crop improvement techniques (Paris: UNESCO/MAB)

Aumeeruddy, Y (à paraître). Phytopractices: a horticultural approach to plant cultivation and improvement in tropical regions. In Warren, D.M. et al., (eds) Indigenous knowledge systems: the cultural dimension of development (Londres: Kegan Paul International)

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Published online by La vie re-belle
 10/09/2020
 http://lavierebelle.org/phytopratiques-traditionnelles

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