Big trees and small trees
Trees are the natural vegetation in large parts of the tropics, in particular,
in humid regions. The importance of trees stems partly from their
large size and perennial character. Trees shape the landscape and
frame buildings; they cast their shade over man and beast. They protect
the soil against the hot sun, heavy rain and strong winds, especially
during seasons when there are no annual crops in the fields. The
roots explore deep soil layers, recycling water and nutrients that cannot
be reached by the roots of field crops. In these ways, trees ameliorate
their immediate environment.
There is increasing evidence that trees protect and exploit the environment
more effectively than annuals. Evergreen trees have the advantage
over seasonal crop plants in that the canopy of leaves is present
throughout the year. Agrodok 16: Agroforestry, explains the role
of trees in more detail, both in the environment and in the farming system.
As a fruit grower you harvest fruit, not leaves and wood. Unfortunately,
the so-called ‘harvest index’ – that is the share of fruit in the
total amount of organic matter produced – is often quite low, especially
for most freely branching fruit trees. The tomatoes, eggplants,
cucurbits, etc. of the vegetable grower may not exploit the environment
nearly as well as the tree fruits, but they yield many more tons of
fruit per ha than most trees. Perhaps you should grow vegetables...
People think it natural that trees grow to a large size, but in fact trees
grow big because poor flowering and fruiting leave enough energy for
ever more shoots to grow. As a fruit grower your aim should be to
produce fruit with a minimum of wood! If you could make a tree bear
a full crop – in relation to its size – each year, starting within a few
years from planting, it would never grow big.
