Vegetative barrier with contour staggered trenches for resource conservation in new tea plantations of the Nilgiris, India

A field experiment was conducted at Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Research Centre, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India, to evaluate vegetative barriers with Contour Staggered Trenches(CST) in new tea plantation for erosion control on 24% land slope. Vegetative barriers of Tripsacum laxum with CST and Cymbopogon flexuousus with CST were more efficient in soil erosion control in new tea plantation and were effective in reducing run-off and soil loss compared to vegetative barrier of Eragrostis curvula with CST, Vetivera zizanoides with CST and control. Yield of green tea leaves did not very among the vegetative barriers. Tea canopy and runoff relationship was positive and exponential (r² = 0.990).