With a view to ensuring better survival rate of plants, the district administration has come up with a new initiative to create a forest using ‘Miyawaki’, a Japanese technique, as part of Haritha Haaram.
The administration would plant more trees in less space.
The proposed forest is coming up at Ashok Nagar near Pakhal Lake where District Collector M. Haritha, Jal Shakti Abhiyan officer for the district Prasanta Kumar Swain, also the Joint Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Marketing, Government of India, District Forest Officer K. Purushotham and over 100 students recently planted 4,000 saplings in one acre of land.
According to the Collector, Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki that helps build dense forests. The method ensures that the plant growth is 10 times faster than the normal growth and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in a small area, which needs no maintenance after the first three years.
“A total of 4,000 saplings have been planted in one acre. This is the technique that ensures dense growth within four to five years of planting saplings and the area will resemble a thick forest in a decade,” said Ms. Haritha.
Mr. Purushotham said more than 30 species have been planted in one acre. As against the conventional planting techniques, this method allows for planting of more number of trees in less spaces.
He said these trees would attract birds, wild animals, butterflies among others. Soon, the area would become a micro climate. Owing to its proximity to the Pakhal Lake, the area could become another tourist attraction in the Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary, he explained.