15.05.2023

With an intense smell of rapeseed in the air and a skylark concert, we were active in spring sunshine on the land of farmer Marion Herrmann in Sieglitz near Lommatzsch to rid some trees of weeds in the agroforestry system planted before Easter.

Five parallel strips were planted, each consisting of five rows of trees. The outer two strips were planted with four different performance varieties, which are now being analyzed in the growth process. The varieties planted were "Vesten" (Populus deltoides x P. nigra), "Bakan" (P. trichocarpa x P. maximowiczii), "Dender" (P. deltoides x (P. trichocarpa x P. maximowiczii) and "Matrix 11" (P. maximowiczii x P. trichocarpa). These fast-growing tree stands can be used for regional energy as well as raw material production after a several years growing season. The middle single strip was planted with wild cherry/bird cherry (Prunus avium ssp. avium), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), and littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata). These deciduous hardwoods are used for long-term cultivation for the production of valuable timber, which can be sold to the timber industry as veneer or solid wood after about 40-60 years.

The task in this work assignment was to clear the value timber stands of regrown weeds around the plantings. Removing them by hand with a hoe was a tough job in the dry clay soil, but with combined efforts it went faster than expected! Probably there will be a second weed control action in spring, after that it will be no longer necessary and the trees are big enough.

Thanks to the organizers BUND Dresden and Landwirtschaftsbetrieb Herrmann! We were glad to be there!