Wind break: A Necessity for Orchard Crops

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Wind break: A Necessity for OrchardCrops

Rows of tall trees planted close together around the orchard, are essential to resists velocity of wind, which causes severe ill effect to the orchard like moisture evaporation, soil erosion and damage of the crops. They are called wind breaks. 

The wind breaks are trees planted around the orchard and plantations to protect the main crop from the severity of damaging wind. Since wind breaks are very effective in reducing the wind velocity and minimizing the damage to the fruit trees hence they are most important for areas where strong wind prevails.
They are commonly planted in rows around the edges of fields. If designed properly, windbreaks around a home can reduce the cost of heating and cooling and save energy. Windbreaks are also planted to help keep snow from drifting onto roadways or yards.    
When the wind encounters a porous obstacle such as a windbreak or shelter-belt there is reduction in the wind velocity in the lee ward direction and the wind from the wind ward direction piles up, so that it will flow above the barrier there by reducing the damage to the orchard.
A wind break ordinarily has its maximum effectiveness for a distance about four times as greater as its height. The most effective wind break is a double row of tall trees alternatively place on the boarder of the orchard. There should be at least as much as spacing between the wind breaks and the first rows of the fruit trees as that of the fruit trees.
It is preferable to dig a trench of 90 cm deep at a distance of 3 m from the wind breaks in the orchard and prune or cut all the roots exposed. After pruning the pit should be filled up. This may be repeated in every 3-4 years in order to avoid the competition between the wind breaks and fruit trees for moisture and nutrition.
Examples of plant used as wind break: Casuarina, Erythrina indica, Cassia, Polyalthia longifolia etc.

Characters of a good wind break:

1. The following are the characters of a good wind break plant:
2. It should be fast or quick growing.
3. It must be erect, tall and mechanically strong.
4. It must be easily propagated.
5. It should have the capacity for easy establishment.
6. It must be dense (dense canopy) to offer maximum resistance to                     wind velocity.
7. It must be hardy, frost and drought resistance.
8. It must have the ability to acclimatize in diverse climactic                             conditions.
9. It should not harbour different pests and diseases.
10. It must have economic value like fruit, fodder, timber, fuel etc.

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