A survey of tree planting practices in the smallholder farming sector of Zimbabwe.
Shumba E. M., Mushaka A., Muchichwa J.
Author Affiliation: Forest Research Centre, Forestry Commission, P O Box H G 595, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Southern African Forestry Journal : 67-74
Abstract : Group meetings and individual farm visits were used to establish current tree planting practices in the smallholder farming sector of Zimbabwe. The number of tree species planted in each of the 8 districts studied ranged from 9 to 27, with 17 species occurring in at least half of the districts. Twelve and 5 of the 17 species were fruit and non-fruit trees, respectively, and 4 were indigenous. Pawpaw (Carica papaya), mulberry (Morus nigra), lemon (Citrus limon) and orange (Citrus sinensis) trees were planted in all districts while naartjie (Citrus reticulata), cockwood (Commiphora mollis) and lucky bean tree (Erythrina abyssinica) were cultivated in 4 districts only. With respect to prevalence, pawpaw, mangoes (Mangifera indica), eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.), mulberry, lemon, rubber hedge (Euphorbia tirucalli) and peach (Prunus persica) were the most frequent, while marula (Sclerocarya birrea), naartjie, cockwood and lucky bean tree were the least frequent. The other species planted and not so far mentioned were guava (Psidium guajava), castor bean (Ricinus communis), syringa berry (Melia azedarach), Mexican apple (Casimiroa edulis) and snot apple (Azanza garckeana). Viewed within a natural region context, tree cultivation was more prevalent in the higher than in the lower rainfall districts. The provision of fruits, poles, fuelwood and live fences were major uses of cultivated trees with fruit provision being a major use for 12 of the 17 species. Fourteen of the species were easy to establish and were propagated from seedlings, grafts, truncheons or cuttings. Nine of the 17 tree species were said to have high growth rates but only one indigenous species fell into this category. Areas around the homestead, the garden and the field boundary were popular sites for tree cultivation. Ways of improving upon and strengthening current tree cultivation practices through research, extension, institutional adjustments and policy changes are proposed.