Abstract:
The productivity potential of dry lands is usually low hence normal crop production is usually next to
impossible. This places greater value on the perennial vegetation, especially multipurpose trees and shrubs
which too require some form of water management. Sesbania sesban, Gliricidia sepium, Casuarina
equisetifolia, Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus grandis seedlings were planted on micro-basins, semi-circular
bunds, V-shaped bunds, sunken pits and a control pit at the beginning of the rainy season in March 2007. The
experiment was replicated three times. Survival rate, height and root collar diameter measurements were taken
during planting and subsequent data collected after every two months throughout the study period of nine
months. Data was analyzed by use of GENSTAT 5.0 and the significant means were separated using LSD at P ≤
0.05. Use of micro-catchments improved seedling survival by between 32.1% and 85.7% while Individual trees
species survival varied from 68.3% to 89.2% with Grevillea robusta being the best performer. The different
species depicted significantly (P ˂ 0.05) better growth in height and Root collar Diameter (RCD) at different
levels in micro-catchments as compared to the control. Micro-basins posted comparatively higher growth in
both height and growth for all the tree species. The use of micro-catchments can improve the survival and
growth of adaptable trees in semi-arid environments
