Aerial seeding

IN NEWS:

• The Haryana Forest Department has started aerial seeding across the state on a pilot basis, starting in the Aravalli region of the state.

What is aerial seeding?

• Aerial seeding is a technique of plantation wherein seed balls are sprayed on the ground using aerial devices, including planes, helicopters or drones.
• Seed balls are seeds covered with a mixture of clay, compost, char and other components.
• Seeds balls or seed pellets are dispersed in a targeted area by the low-flying drones.
•  The coating material provides the required weight for seeds to drop on a predetermined location rather than disperse in the wind.
•  These pellets will then sprout when there is enough rain, with the nutrients present within them helping in the initial growth.

What are the advantages of this technique?

• Areas that are inaccessible, have steep slopes, are fragmented or disconnected with no forest routes, making conventional plantation difficult, can be targeted with aerial seeding.
• Furthermore, the process of the seed’s germination and growth is such that it requires no attention after it is dispersed – the reason why seed pellets are known as the “fire and forget” way of plantation.
• They eliminate the need for ploughing and digging holes in the soil and the seeds do not need to be planted, since they are already surrounded by soil, nutrients, and microorganisms.
• The clay shell of these pellets along with the other items in the mixture also protects them from birds, ants and rats.
• The species selected have to be native to the area and hardy, with seeds that are of an appropriate size for preparing seedballs,and have to have a higher survival percentage.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding Aerial Seeding:
1.They are suitable for afforestation in inaccessible areas.
2.The seeds dropped during aerial seeding are dispersed by wind to different locations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question