OmniVerdi Riza
The Omniverdi Riza is a degradable bag of 25 to 75cm deep and 4 cm in diameter and is not removed during planting.
The Riza is an answer to address most problems by enabling the production of seedlings with very long taproots and many dormant secondary roots. When planting up to 1m deep the roots find a much more comfortable zone down there with lower temperatures and often with higher water and nutrient availability then close to the surface. Also, the rootball is kept undamaged during transporting and planting, hereby decreasing significantly the stress of transplanting, certainly if the seedlings are produced under the same light conditions. The dormant secondary roots are activated quickly after transplanting as they become into direct contact with the soil and hereby giving the seedling strong capabilities of establishing itself quickly. Add 2 to 5lt water at the time of planting only; no watering is needed after planting.
In time the appropriated biodegradable materials might become available suited for this purpose, as for now the degradation time is too short or costs are too high for them to be a viable option to manufacture the Riza.
OmniVerdi Riza
Roots reach this size in a few weeks to a month, even when the aerial part is still under 5cm high the roots are often already over 75cm, appearing at the bottom. Many species can be transplanted already to the field at a very young age, about 3 to 4 months old, especially when planted out at the start of the rainy season.
Advisable is to grow the seedling up to 6 months and transplant about a month or even two months before the usual rainy season starts to avoid lack of available manpower which often occurs when the rainy season start seen that many rural people rush to prepare their land to plant their crops in that period. Pouring 2lt of wet humus at the bottom of the 1m deep hole will help the seedlings to stay alive until the rainy season starts.
The OmniVerdi Riza is also designed for easier and cheaper logistics, as the seedlings can be easily transported lying down in rows and can be piled up in layers. Each weigh about 0,5 to 1,5kg depending on the length, the kind of substrate and its wetness. In the field they can be carried hanging or lying down in long crates. There are also no reversed logistics or waste in the field.
The manufacturing of the Riza seedling bags is done by manual sewing with only a simple needle and a piece of tissue. This task can be done by almost anybody in the nearby communities, generating democratic and distributed income for many, especially for the women. Filling the bags with substrate and placing them inside the Sigma nurseries generates even more income locally, this also mainly for women. Same is true for preparing the seeds and sowing. When these tasks are done by locals in the form of contribution then the monetary project costs might decrease.
How to produce the Riza seedlings?
How to plant the Riza seedlings?
Why is planting OmniVerdi Riza seedlings much better?
The drawing below shows the situation right after planting two seedlings, on the left an OmniVerdi Riza seedling and on the right a normal seedling.
How they were planted?
The planting hole for the OmniVerdi Riza can be made with the OmniVerdi Skavo tool, even in a diagonal direction if desired, 1meter deep and 7cm in diameter. The tool avoids the hole from collapsing while you pour 2lt wet humus into the bottom of the hole and slide in the seedling 80cm deep, after which the tool is pulled out and additional soil is added with about 2lt of water which filters down immediately deep into the hole. No more water is needed. The many dormant secondary roots, well distributed, are now in contact with soil and are activated. Most of the water given at time of planting remains stored in the soil in zone B and will be available for the seedling for weeks or even months.
The planting hole for the normal seedling was dug 25x25x25cm and at least 5lt of water was poured into the hole before planting, some humus or manure was added too. More water is added after planting… a lot. Mostly the roots are bended horizontally and concentrated at the bottom. Most of the water given at the time of planting is lost trough evaporation during the first days.
What happens next after planting without further irrigation?
Watering plants after planting must be avoided due too high costs and specially to save precious water. In most regions there wouldn’t be available the required amount of water for regular irrigation. Watering seedlings planted in the normal way, with their roots only in zone A for many months, would be a huge waste of water. Any kind of efficient irrigation like drip irrigation would still require and waste too much water and installing the system would be too expensive and risks being stolen.
It is clear that seedling establishment in the field must be done without the need of extra watering after planting. In the case of the two seedlings from above, if no extra water is given to the seedlings after planting then the upper zone A will dry out in a matter of days to maximum a few weeks. The solar radiation heats up zone A a lot and without available water in this zone the normal seedling will dry out and very probably die in a very short time after planting. On the other hand, the OmniVerdi Riza seedling is just fine, for her it does not matter if zone A is dry to the bone and hot because her roots are 60 to 80cm deep in a much more comfortable zone B which does not dry out for many months. Even some ‘natural’ humidity might be available to the seedling at that depth, even during the long dry season. That is why 98% of 5cm tall tiny seedlings of a few months old survived and even grew during 5 months of dry season in Caatinga, with no rain or irrigation whatsoever, no shade at all and no organic soil cover. Before the first rains start to fall they have already expanded quite well their root system down there and react quickly with explosive growth at the beginning of the rainy season.
It is thereby possible to plant OmniVerdi Riza seedlings a few months before the rainy season starts. At that time labour is easier available and the roads are still dry.
Trying to establish trees and shrubs will be much more successful and cheaper by using OmniVerdi Riza seedlings. They will also suffer less from direct competition from herbaceous vegetation which roots are more in zone A and the roots of the seedlings are in zone B, which might even make weeding or mulching less necessary. In case weeding might be required then the use of the OmniVerdi Omega is recommended, which will prevent weeds from establishing itself nearby the seedling and avoids the costs and the need for weeding. The total cost of installing the OmniVerdi Omega is cheaper then the costs of weeding and replanting accidently cut seedlings during weeding.
