Multiplication of Vetiver Grass

Multiplication of vetiver grass is an essential activity under the vetiver system. After the gathering and selecting of vetiver ecotypes, may it be local or imported ones, multiplication is then carried out to increase the collection and meet the demands. During this process, the shoots or tillers per clump are increased in number and they are cultivated in large-scale to fill up an area, thus referred to as the multiplication field or parent stock plot. There are various methods of multiplication as follows :


	1. Multiplication in plastic bags

Planting vetiver in plastic bags is both clean and easy to maintain, however, it requires proper tools for watering and caring. It is easy to develop and keep a record of the number of bags and tillers or shoots needed to meet the public demand. This method is appropriate to use under various development projects in the initial stage of operation, such as the Royally-initiated Development and Promotion of the Utilization of Vetiver Grass Project. It is very convenient in terms of distribution and providing services or support to various agencies and interested farmers or the public for further multiplication or other purposes.


	Equipment and methods for multiplication

       1. Using plastic bags
       The plastic bags used for vetiver grass multiplication are of two sizes, large and small. Generally, the large one is a black plastic bag with folding at one side and a size of 4 inches wide and 9 inches long or larger than that. When filled with nursery soil, the large plastic bag will have a diameter of 15-20 cm. The small one has a size of 2-2.5 inches wide and 6-8 inches long, and has a diameter of 5-10 cm. when filled with soil. Propagation of vetiver tillers in large plastic bags can produce a large number of new shoots and the planting material can be kept in the bag for an extended period of time. Hence, these vetiver clumps are suitable for further multiplication or for separating into tillers for large-scale transplanting. As for those in small bags, they are suitable for direct transplanting on land or specific areas for soil and water conservation purposes, such as in hedgerows, on roadsides and road shoulders, along pond edges, and on paddy bunds to hold the soil together in dry, impoverished and saline conditions. Planting vetiver tillers propagated in small plastic bags ensures a better survival rate and faster establishment of the grass.
       2. Vetiver ecotype and tiller preparation
       Preparation of vetiver tillers means using studied and selected ecotypes that are over 4 months old, and fully mature with elongated internodes. If the tiller is not in inflorescence stage, separate it into solitary shoots. If it is in inflorescence stage with elongated internodes or the internodes just start to emerge, separate with 1-2 young shoots. It is also advised to cut the apex off at 20 cm. and cut their roots as short as possible. Then peel the old outer sheath off and clean it with water. Next, gather it into small bundles and dip under water or in a mixture of root-accelerating hormones, which are available in the market. The bundles are dipped for only one day, then placed together in a pile with the base covered with vetiver leaves or newspaper. Afterward, water the bundles, cover them with plastic sheets, and leave in shade for 3-5 days. When new shoots and roots of vetiver come out, select some for transplanting in soil and put others in plastic bags for further propagation.

3. Soil and planting material
Soil should have a good drainage capacity. One may use a mixture of loamy soil, sandy soil, and ash at the ratio of 1:2:1 or a mixture of sandy soil and ash at a ratio of 2:1. When filled with the above mixture, the black plastic bags of a size of 5x11 inches will weigh approximately 3.5 kilograms and the smaller bags of a size of 2.5x8 inches will weigh 600 grams. In terms of labour for filling the mixture and arranging the bags, 1 skillful worker can manage about 1,000-2,000 small bags (2.5x8 inches) per day.




	multiplication on raised beds

       4. Arranging bags
       On an area of 1 rai (1 rai = 0.4 acre or 1,600 square meters), if vetiver tillers are arranged in two rows with 1 m. distance apart, 30,000 bags are needed for the bigger size of 5x11 inches or 125,000 bags for the smaller size of 2.5x8 inches. All bags will be kept under the shade which has slan of 70% light intensity. However, the bags can be kept outdoors in some areas which are exposed to high humidity such as when planting in the rainy season or having mist spray.
       5. Planting and care
       Vetiver tillers should be planted in the bags when soil or the mixture of soil still has moisture, and the mixture should not be dry before planting. Then, filling the mixture in the bags and planting should be done simultaneously in each set. Watering should be provided continually by using mist spray or hose connected to the tap. Remove the sunscreen net or rearrange the bags in sunlight to expose to clear sunshine. After that, treat them with some fertilizers such as 1 tablespoonful of 25-5-5 fertilizer per 20 liters of water. Then a week later, provide them with 15-15-15 fertilizer at a rate of half a teaspoonful for a large bag and 100 grams per 10 square meters for a small bag by sowing and watering continually. For the large bags (5x11 inches), from 2 months old and up, vetiver clumps will rapidly spread out, so water and fertilizer should be completely provided for them. After 4 months, the leaves should be cut to remain the length of 40 cm. for limiting the vetiver age (in case of the ecotypes that produce florets rapidly). For the vetiver tillers that are propagated in small bags (2.5x8 inches), they are ready to plant when they are 45 days old, with 3-5 shoots and the roots spreading throughout the bags. Before planting, it is important to reduce the watering to make vetiver seedlings stronger. If the tillers are allowed to grow more than 2 months, the leaves should be cut occasionally to prevent damage by aphids and ground worms. In general, vetiver multiplication in the bags of the size of 10x20 inches for 4 months will provide 25 shoots per bag.


	2. Multiplication on cultivated plots


	Vetiver can be planted not only in the large plastic bags, but also directly on the cultivated plots at vetiver multiplication centers, land development stations or multiplication plots which may be located near the land where vetiver will be transplanted in contour rows to conserve soil and water as follows :

	2.1 Multiplication on raised beds

	This method should be applied in irrigated areas or where there is a good watering system because such a condition favours mass and year-round production of vetiver tillers. The planting material is obtained from first digging the selected clump, and then cutting the top and trimming the roots to leave 20 and 5 cm. of length respectively.




	multiplication on paddy fields

After that, the shoots are separated and bound together in bunches. The vetiver roots are to be soaked in water for four days after which they start to grow (the trial shows that soaking roots for four days before planting permits more than 90% survival rate). Then the grass is planted in prepared soil on raised beds. Planting should take place when the soil still has moisture, on one-meter-wide plots and with a spacing of 1 m. between the plots. The tillers should be placed in double rows at a 50 cm. spacing between the culms and also between the rows.
By this method, one rai of land or 40x40 m. of an area can accommodate 20 raised beds. Each bed requires 160 shoot stocks and hence one rai will need 3,200 tillers for multiplication. Watering after planting to maintain soil moisture is necessary. At one month, each tiller should receive one teaspoonful of 15-15-15 fertilizer. At 4-5 months, each clump will generate 40-50 new shoots and one rai of land can yield 120,000-150,000 new shoots.


	2.2 Multiplication on large-scale fields

The idea is clear that a large-scale vetiver multiplication field system practice requiring a large number of tillers is well suited to government agencies or large-scale plantations, or companies. Also the system practice is suitable for non-irrigated areas. The production and multiplication procedures are similar to those practices under the initial second method mentioned earlier. That is after the land plowing and preparing, tillers with cut leaves at 20 cm. long and cut roots at 5 cm. long may be planted when soil moisture is adequate. Two to three planting tillers should be used in each hole at a spacing of 50x50 cm. However, to make it easier for caring and maintenance, six rows of a 50x50 cm. spacing should be planted alternating with the walking space of 1.00-1.50 m. Crop caring and fertilization are the same as under the afore-mentioned second method. The best time for mutiplying vetiver by this method is the mid-rainy season or between mid-June and mid-August. By this method, vetiver tillers at 4-5 months old can generate an average of 50 new shoots per clump.




	multiplication on large-scale fields


	2.3 Multiplication on paddy fields

The good quality vetiver tillers are usually obtained from the multiplication fields where they are properly planted and cared, and with proper age such as more than 4 months but not exceeding 1 year. Therefore, vetiver multiplication to increase the shoots or tillers per clump to meet the demand is an important process. Multiplication on paddy fields will be done in the area that is equipped with irrigation system, and also good watering and draining system where vetiver can be propagated all year-round, or on the upland paddy fields which rely on rainwater with good drainage potential.


	Soil Preparation

The soil is ploughed similarly to the preparation for cultivating crops after the regular rice season. The field is divided into suitable and needed size for cultivation of vetiver grass. Prepare the holes by beating the soil with a hoe. Both spacing between rows and holes should be 50 cm. For example, in an area of half a rai (200 square meters), there will be 20 rows with 40 holes in each, so the total will be 800 holes. Such close distance planting is aimed at reducing the problem of weed.


	Vetiver Tiller Preparation

	Generally, we can obtain vetiver tillers in small plastic bags from Vetiver Tiller Production Centers or the Land Development Stations. In case plastic bag tillers are not available, we can use from the shoots by digging up the clumps, cutting the leaves to 20 cm. and the roots to a short length, and separating into 1 to 3 tillers (young tillers generally come with them). Then peel the outer sheath off, clean the tillers with water and gather them into bundles. Leave them covered with leaves in shade or outdoors for 3-4 days. Watering is necessary to maintain the moisture or dip into two-palm depth of water for stimulating the vetiver grass to produce roots and grow up when they are transplanted in the soil (for some ecotypes of vetiver and in some seasons, root-accelerating hormones are necessary to stimulate root production).

	Planting and Care

	After soil and tiller preparation, vetiver grass is then planted in the holes each of which has been laid at the bottom with fertilizer or compost at a ratio of a handful (200 kilograms per 0.12 rai (about 200 square meters)). Then the holes are covered up. Vetiver grass should be planted not so deep into the hole and the soil must be moist. After vetiver has been planted 1-2 months, weeds should be eliminated. The soil should be broken and nourished with 15-15-15 fertilizer at a rate of 1 teaspoonful for each tiller or 5 kilograms per 0.12 rai (about 200 square meters) by spreading over the area. If vetiver is given enough water to maintain moisture without inundating, it will produce new shoots after 2 months and takes another 2 months to grow, thus requiring 4 months altogether. At this stage, vetiver grass should be allowed to yield spikelets normally until it produces approximately over 50% of the clump. Then the leaves and inflorescence should be cut to remain 40 cm. in height to prevent aging and accelerate tillering to encourage the new tillers to grow at the same rate as those which have already produced spikelets.

	Tillering Results

	Vetiver grass that has good cultivation and caring will grow up and produce about 40-50 tillers per clump when it is 4-5 months old. A clump can divide into at least 10-20 fully-grown tillers. Then, an area of 0.12 rai (about 200 square meters) should have moderately 8,000-16,000 or not less than 10,000 mature tillers, and an area of 1 rai should have at least 80,000 vetiver tillers.




	tiller preparation



	good care



	vetiver in its full growing and tillering stage


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