හේන් වගාවThis 'chena' cultivation does not make use of the same piece of land (unlike where paddy is grown) and goes on rotation of crops. The 'chena' cultivator cuts down, at regular intervals, the trees of a small jungle land and set fire to the woody growths as far as possible, to begin cultivation. This virgin land is most suitable for cultivation in view of its rich soil.
Planting
Among the charred stumps and half-burnt tree trunks, the farmer plants his favourite crop, be they cereals, millet of vegetables, and even yams and sweet-potatoes. In certain Asian countries, when it comes to planting cereals, the men take the planting stick, and make little holes on the ground, and the women drops the seeds, and cover them with the use of their feet. As jungle land is generally free from weeds or grasses, and the soil is usually rich in humus (decomposed organic matter in the soil), and well supplied with ash of burnt plant matter after clearing, it produces a very good, or even excellent, first harvest. The second harvest begins to show a decline in yield, and, thereafter, the returns diminish rapidly. Grasses and weeds invade the clearing.
Rather than battle these, the farmer abandons his old 'chena' and cuts and burns a new plot of jungle land elsewhere at his sole discretion. The old plot of land reverts under favourable conditions, to a second-growth, within a few years. 'Chena' cultivation is characterised by a lack of tillage, the soil is hardly disturbed, as no plough turns it.
