This volume deals with the auxiliary plants in agriculture
and forestry of SE Asia, including fuelwoods and water-clearing plants. Auxiliary
plants have service functions in cropping systems and help in-crease or sustain
the yield of the main crops. Auxiliary plants include shade and nurse trees,
cover crops, green manures, mulch, fallow crops, live fences, wind-breaks and
shelter-belts, live supports & stakes, erosion-controlling plants and land
reclamation species. Interest in these crops waned after the 1930s, but has
grown rapidly since the 1970s as a result of increased attention for sustainable
and low-input agriculture. Fuelwoods are treated here, as many of the trees
and shrubs used for fuel, such as Leucaena leucocephala, Casuarina
spp. and Acacia spp. have auxiliary roles too. Fuel also plays an auxiliary
role in many production processes, contributing to but not forming part of the
end product. Water-clearing plants are not used in SE Asia as commonly as in
Africa or Europe, where ponds and canals bordered with Phragmites spp.
contribute significantly to the clearing of effluents. Most of the 78 important
crops treated in this volume are grown in SE Asia, but several crops widely
grown elsewhere and potentially useful in parts of SE Asia have been included
as well. A further 107 genera & species of minor importance are treated
briefly, while over 150 spp. which play an auxiliary role or provide fuelwood
but have another primary use are listed.