The raised bed technology should be avoided in high hills cold desert zone where cold waves may cause damage to crops. Under such situation sunken beds are recommended so that cold waves pass above the bed without having direct contact with it. In temperate zone suncken beds of full moon, half moon shape are recommended.   Another region is hot arid region where the soils are light (sandy soils). Again here raised beds are not recommended to safe guard the plants from hot waves

Dr Shirgure , let me compliment you for raising an issue of huge practical  significance  to Fruit culture , especially . In our ignorance , we are indiscriminately following raised  bed plantation on each and every soil , without giving due weightage to subsoil properties and climatic features including the extreme events in a given region or area.  We forget so comprehensively the change in natural  hydrological properties that you induce as a result of raised bed plantation . Good point Dr Shirgure...

The raised bed technology should be avoided in high hills cold desert zone where cold waves may cause damage to crops. Under such situation sunken beds are recommended so that cold waves pass above the bed without having direct contact with it. In temperate zone suncken beds of full moon, half moon shape are recommended.   Another region is hot arid region where the soils are light (sandy soils). Again here raised beds are not recommended to safe guard the plants from hot waves

Good point Dr Malhotra , any study available , how the hydrological properties of soil undergo reorientation as a result of raised bed comarped to flat bed..?

You are very correct Dr Malhotra. This type of beds are not suited in hills as well as in arid regions. Hydrology of the basins is another dimension to be considered as stated by Dr Srivastava. Thanks for your inputs. 

You are absolutely correct Abhishek. The informative feedback on raise beds. The attachments are helpful.  Thanks for your reply.

Hi! Parameshwar,

Interesting topic, check the following links you get some useful information

The Basics: Gardening In Raised Beds

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/raised-bed-basics/8565.html?SC=XNET9465

Advantages and Disadvantages of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening

http://www.rootsimple.com/2014/02/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-raised-bed-vegetable-gardening/

How To Grow Fruits And Berries

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/growing-fruits-and-berries/5067.html

Site and soil requirements for small fruit crops

http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/production/pdfs/sitesoireqsmfru.rev.pdf

13 Tips for Gardening in Extreme Heat

https://abundantminigardens.com/gardening-in-extreme-heat/

Raised Beds & Vegetable Planters

https://www.quickcrop.ie/raised-beds

Growing Your Own

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/sites/default/files/em9027complete1.pdf

Ten Steps to a Successful Vegetable Garden

http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1435.pdf

Crop Water Information: Pineapple

http://www.fao.org/nr/water/cropinfo_pineapple.html

Interesting points about permanent raised beds that improve the crop performance and water use efficiency. Permanent raised beds improved crop performance and water use on the North China Plain but what about the occurrence of soil borne diseases and nematodes, which are serious problem in the nursery management on raised beds. 

In Bangladesh, bed is the must for producing some horticultural crops to drain water quickly.

Dr Biswas, flat terrain and high rainfall as well as groundwater table in Bangladesh requires bedding for most of the horti. crops as their water requirement is not so high as well as the area is full of Relative humidity and moderate temperature. Therefore beds helps in all the time. 

 Thanks Dr Malhotra, raise beds improve water and fertilizer use efficiency. The occurrence of diseases and nematodes in nursery is mainly due to excess water and it has to regulated. Low quantity of water but more frequent application can solve this to some extent. 

Thanks Dr Barbara and Ramadevi for interacting on the topic. 

In Bangladesh , Dr Biswas , waterlogging is a major issue...How do they adopt various types of rasie dbeds on different soil types ( Alfisols versus Ultisols) to fight it out this  issue, because raised bed concept emerged  due to waterlogging ...if i am correct...

I also agree with Dr Suresh

Dr Anoop and Balogun,

I appreciate it. How to deal with water-logging in Bangladesh? We call it 'Sorjan' for tidal areas in which people dig canal (2-5 ft deep) and put those soil as bed and then go for vegetable cultivation in the bed and fish in the canal. Moreover, floating bed is manufactured for growing crops (pls see picture).

Excellent feedback Dr Biswas . Likewise . can you please add some work on fruit crops, including citrus..we are so willing to see such works...

Fantastic Abhishek ..i wonder ..you are an asset to such discussion . And , i appreciate your every effort to enlighten all of us with your prowess to literature search on any issue....

In 2013, there are flash floods in SKUAST-Jammu and to overcome it we tried fruit cultivation in water logged area by using raised platform for individual plant after laying out the Orchard. This orchard contains fruit plants of peach, grapefruit, Kinnow mandarin, aonla and they are in third year of planting. 

Excellent feedback on raise bed systems in cropping systems as well as horticulture. The raise bed system as well as bedding systems are more or less same purpose land formations used to get well drain conditions for crops to grow. Thanks to Biswas, Abhishek and Dr Srivastava for interacting on this most important issue. 

Dr Bakshi, you are right. The temperate fruits grown in the area where water stagnation may happen needs some sort of raise bedding depending on the morphology of the basin. This will help the plants in heavy rains. 

Friends , let us know, whether or not , we need to have some criteria in quantitative terms to warrant the raising of raised bed..? 

Different methods of beds/ trences were studied at CITH Srinagar for temperate fruit crops. The water harvesting techniques like full moon, half moon, cup and plate and trench system were created along with different type of mulch materials for efficient moisture conservation and utilization under rainfed conditions in almond variety Non Pareil which planted at a spacing of 4 x 4m. The data on nut yield and soil moisture status indicated that maximum fruit number and yield (2355 Nos, 3.56 kg/tree and 2.22t/ha) were recorded in full moon structure + plastic mulch followed by half moon + plastic mulch (2267 Nos, 3.45 kg/tree 2.16 t/ha) and minimum in control (894 Nos 1.28 kg/tree 0.80 t/ha) plots.

How do we decide the distance between the two beds..? The width of the beds , is it dependent upon the crops to be raised..? Do we need to harvest drained water somewhere  passing through furrows...? these are some the points , we need a good debate in relation to nature and properties of soils..

Spacing for crops and water flow for draining dictates bed width. Besides, if we like to culture fish, wider canal is better (distance between two beds). We can irrigate from canal, if needed.

Any specific study , if we can cite Dr Biswas , it will be  great for the discussion...?

Dear All,

Please find few attachments for your kind necessary action on Sorjon system and bed planting. Regards

 Some outstanding feedbacks , friends. Researches have  shown that the extra runoff from areas of raised beds is likely to be between 5 and 10 per cent of the

growing season rainfall. This is roughly equivalent to an extra 15 to 30mm of water annually, which from an area as small as 100ha amounts to between 15,000 and 30,000m3 per year. If a 20mm rainfall event fell of an already wet field of raised beds the water shed from 100ha by this single event could amount to 4,000m3 Whilst these amounts of water may seem large in their own right they are only 5 to 10 per cent more than normal. However, the water harvesting efficiency of a system of raised beds is such that the water will run off far quicker than normal and may therefore ,seem to be excessive. 

Properly constructed and functional Raised Beds have physical conditions that do not deteriorate quickly. This is because they drain excess water and do not become saturated. The wettest part of a Raised Bed is its base at the centre of the bed .The  natural tendency for loose soils to subside into a dense, less permeable condition is substantially reduced in Raised Beds. Drained beds, combined with no-tillage crop establishment (which maximises the retention of root matter) and a totally controlled traffic regime, respectively ,maximise internal friction between soil particles, provide reinforcing rods in the form of roots, and remove trafficinduced compaction.The consequence is that improved infiltration and density conditions are retained for a considerable time.

There is no clear-cut  recommendation on the regularity with which Raised Beds should be renovated. The need really depends on their condition, which should be monitored. The objective for managing Raised Beds is to maintain their condition as a reasonably loose, permeable and aerated seedbed. If they are allowed to return to a compact (dense and less permeable) condition they will lose the ability to aerate and prevent waterlogging. The condition of beds will depend on the amount of rainfall, traffic and grazing they receive and whether they have been subject to waterlogging (and subsidence) because of ponding in the furrows.

What kind of soil properties dictate the  inter-bed spacing , in addition to width and height of the beds..?

Is there any study carried out so far comparing the performance of flat bed versus raised beds with reference to any perennial fruit crop..?

My both  the querries are still unresponded , the way they deserve to be debated...

Abhishek , we need better discussion, please...

In deep clay soils lets know how raise bed planting is useful to annual and perennial crops ?

Managing perennial crops on shallow soils through raised bed planting is a real challenge, since later stages , roots are exposed giving unnecessary stress to plants and subsurface soils are unnecessarily exposed  fro further deterioration....  

You are correct Dr Srivastava, the raise bed is good in establishment phase. Later the central part of the bed has to be cultivated and to be used for bed strengthening. 

Abhishek , there is hardly any crop , which doesnt like well drained soils. I agree with Dr Shirgure , as the plant ages, we need to do strengthening from  peripheral sides of the bed , so that roots are not unduly exposed , in case of perennial fruits. Well said Dr Shirgure...

Friends, while practicing raise beds on shallow soils, don't you feel we frequently expose subsurface while developing raise beds. 

You are right Dr Shirgure , on shallow soils , providing raised bed is done to increase the depth of soil so that plants on raised bed have greater rooting depth ...On the othe r hand , subsurface is undoubtedly exposed ..no doubt ..

I agree with you. But, the raise bed put either in shallow soil or in deep soil, we need stabilization of bunds from their peripheral ends . 

Yes, i do agree with you , bunds stabilization is mandatory till , they permanently stabilized fro no root exposure.. 

Friends, we are yet to some of our colleagues debating on the quality standards of bunds in terms biophysical requirements..?

Good point Abhishek .This si where we need intervention of mechanical and biological means to address such a issue of purely engineering base. Bunds need to be stabilized , especially their peripheral ends, and grasses do aid in their stabilization , thereby, reducing both run off as well as soil fertility loss through soil carried away through run off...

Is there any study available comparing the efficacy of flat bed plantation versus raised bed plantation in any given agro-pedological situation...?

Here is one of such study Dr. Anoop kumar

So nice to see the good work , and appreciate your efforts to attach such a good PDF , Vrajesh . The annual crops have a different perspective on raised bed compared to perennial crops. Infact , i missed that punch word raised bed versus flat bed using perennial  fruit crops. But , none the less , it is very useful attachment for all of our colleagues. However , underlying mechanism are still not very clear..On eof the reason s, we can foresee , is the better soil-atmoshere exchange with raised bed than flat bed., besides drainage 

thanks sir

Thanks Mr Patel. Can you please attach any information regarding perennial crops comparing flat bed with raise bed. 

Sure Mr. Shirgure.. i am atraching one report released australian government for rice and other crops. please have a look.