Vetiver Grass – A Hedge Against Erosion
Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Terraces — by Richard Webb January 19, 2009
PIJ #54, March – May 1995
Soil erosion is perhaps the world’s most chronic environmental problem that is literally costing the earth. The soil it carries off now totals 20 billion tons a year and this loss is not only severely degrading the environment, it is eroding the economic viability of countries. Despite enormous effort, standard soil conservation methods have been largely unsuccessful. However, a remarkable tropical grass may hold the key to a cheap, practical solution for controlling soil erosion on a huge scale in tropical and semi-arid regions. It also has many attributes that make it useful to farmers.
Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides) is a densely tufted, perennial clump grass with stiff leaf bases which overlap.
