Vetiver Guides, Standards and Specifications
and Special Focus Notes
This package is a suite of generic design standards and guides for Vetiver Grass Technology, grounded in research, long-term field experience and, where applicable, current engineering practice. It exists because the global spread of VGT created a need for consistency. The standards give practitioners design and implementation guidance, help agencies, consultants and contractors prepare contract-ready documentation, and set minimum technical requirements for design, plant material, installation and quality assurance.
They are deliberately generic. VGT is a nature-based technology, and local soils, climate, hydrology, effluent characteristics and regulation all shape how it performs. Adapt them to your site, your regulatory framework and your project objectives. Do not apply them rigidly.
Every module contains a table of contents and a reference list supporting its design logic. Links point to Google Drive; internal table-of-contents links work only once the file is downloaded.
- Start here
- Background reading
- Choosing a module
- Data to gather
- Can and cannot
- Causes of failure
- The modules A–D
- Special Focus Notes
Three designations
Each module carries one of three designations.
Start here
Vetiver Hedge Mechanisms v3.21 – new
Above ground, below ground, structural, operational and solute roles. The physical and biological basis for everything else in the package: how a hedge slows water, spreads it, builds terraces, reinforces soil and moves nutrients. Read this before choosing a module.
Vetiver and Water: Hydrology, Hydraulics, and the Hidden Benefits v1.0 – new
Where Vetiver Hedge Mechanisms sets out the parts of the hedge, this one isolates the single function that underlies most of them and is the one most often misread: the management of water. It is written to be read before the application modules (A–D), because in almost every one of them the first and most important design decision is what you intend water to do.
Hedge or Stand-alone new
Five planting forms, when and why to use each, and the six mistakes that recur everywhere. This quick guide supplements the matrices below.
Vetiver Planting Guide revised
Planting instructions covering nearly all applications. Plant material, root and shoot trim, crown depth, spacing, firming and gap-filling.
Background reading: the science behind the standards
TVNI, 2022 · 173 pp.
Paul Truong has done more than anyone to put the Vetiver System on a measured footing, and this book is where the belowground half of that work is gathered. It is not a design standard and does not tell you what to build. It tells you why the standards say what they say.
It covers root growth, distribution and lifespan; root responses to flooding, drought, salinity, aluminum toxicity and heavy metals; penetration of compacted and mechanically resistant soils; interactions with soil organisms including mycorrhizal fungi; and the principles of slope stabilization, with their limits stated. It is also extensively photographed (root excavations, roots driven through compacted dam walls, shaded against open-grown plants, root systems at depth), a visual record of the hidden half that exists nowhere else and is worth the download on its own.
A concrete measure of its value rather than a compliment: reading it systematically produced version 2 of the Mechanisms standard, which withdrew an apparent root cohesion figure the manual had carried since its first revision, corrected two statements, and added five new items to its register of open questions. Very few reference works earn their keep that visibly.
Choosing a module
Modules are grouped in four domains: A water and hydrological protection, B slopes, earthworks and geotechnical stability, C wastewater, effluent and pollution control, D livelihoods, products and community systems. Work from the problem, not the domain:
| Your problem | Start at |
|---|---|
| Canal, river or stream bank erosion | A1 |
| Gully head-cutting and channel loss | A6 |
| Reservoir or dam draw-down zone, fluctuating water level | A1 |
| Farm-scale soil and water loss | A5, D3, D12 |
| Shallow slope or embankment failure | B3 (simple slopes); B1 if the site fails the Module B screening gate |
| Engineered slopes (steep, difficult, high risk) | B1 |
| Failed or reactivating slope (landslip) | B2 (shallow and inactive); B1 if active, deep-seated or large |
| Slopes and construction on Vertisols (black cotton soils) | B5 (small works), D12 (farm scale); B1 for public roads, dams and canal embankments |
| Road-drain sediment, construction runoff, post-fire slopes | B3 (Schedules E and F) |
| High-strength wastewater — coffee, POME, landfill leachate | C1, C5 |
| Raw sewage | C2, C8 |
| Polishing treated effluent to a compliance standard | C3 |
| Urban and residential storm water management - Rain Gardens | C6 |
| Residential plot mixed source drainage | C7 |
| Lake, tank or reservoir pollution | A1, C10 |
| Export floriculture efffluent | C9 |
| Community income and adoption | D1, D2, D9, D13. D15 |
| Soil biology, pests, nematodes, forage | D4–D8 |
| Soil Carbon, soil health | D14, D12, D5 |
| Planting technique | D4, D16 |
| Nursery management | D18 |
| Plant Quality Requirements | D17 |
Data to gather before you design
Hydrology
Rainfall intensity and seasonality; runoff patterns; water-level fluctuation (A3, A4); effluent volumes and loading rates
Geotechnical
Slope gradient and height; soil type and shear strength; seep lines or perched water; stability history; consequence of failure (what lies on, above and below the slope)
Effluent (C modules)
COD and BOD; ammonia, nitrate, phosphate; pH, EC, salinity; oil and grease (POME)
Site constraints
Available land; access for planting and maintenance; regulatory offsets from gas lines, geomembranes and similar
What VGT can and cannot do
VGT can
- Increase near-surface shear strength and reduce shallow slip risk
- Increase infiltration in the hedge zone and reduce runoff volume and velocity
- Reduce pore-water pressure in the rooted layer
- Trap sediment and build terraces
- Treat wastewater through evapotranspiration and nutrient uptake
- Survive anaerobic conditions nearly indefinitely, so long as it is not totally submerged and is given a transition period
- Stabilize slopes, banks, embankments and gully works
- Supply forage, mulch, thatch and craft material; improve soil structure and health; and support rural enterprise
VGT cannot
- Replace structural reinforcement where deep-seated failure is likely
- Treat effluent beyond the biological capacity of the system without pre-treatment
- Grow in deep shade (stops growing at 80% shade)
- Tolerate glyphosate
Common causes of failure
Across global experience, failures come from a short and repetitive list. Each module’s design envelope carries its own risk notes; these are the ones that recur everywhere.
- Glyphosate drift. It kills vetiver outright. Keep a 2 m no-spray corridor and settle this at design stage, not in year two. Decisive where VGT is proposed alongside herbicide-based conservation tillage.
- Shade. Deep shade suppresses growth severely. Note that shading an already-established hedge is more damaging than establishing under shade, so agroforestry and orchard designs must consider canopy closure years ahead.
- Abrupt transfer into saturated ground. Vetiver does grow in waterlogged anaerobic soil, but it takes roughly three weeks to build the aerenchyma that oxygenates its roots there. Dryland-raised material set straight into standing anaerobic mud is at risk through that window. Stage the transition, or use material already raised wet. This is an establishment constraint, not a species limit, and it is the likeliest origin of the belief that vetiver cannot take waterlogging.
- Incorrect spacing, density or alignment. Off-contour alignment destroys the spreading function, which is the mechanism most field results depend on.
- Poor maintenance in the first 8–12 weeks. Includes livestock access before the hedge is established, and cultivation too close to the line.
- Overloading evapotranspiration or treatment systems. Loading beyond design capacity.
- Planting on active landslide zones. Drainage control comes first, and the slide must have been still for at least one full wet season before planting (B2).
- Ignoring hydrological pathways. Especially seep lines.
- Treating a borderline slope as simple. Apply the Module B screening gate before design. If in doubt, escalate to B1 and a geotechnical engineer.
The modules
A
Water and hydrological protection
| Code/FIle Name | Version/date | Module | What it addresses | Specs Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 DS-WATER-MARGINS | v2 - 08/30/2026 | Water margins and watercourse banks | Engineered channels · River and stream banks · Reservoir, tank and dam margins · Lake and tank water-quality protection | v1 - 08/30/26 |
| A5 DS-ON-FARM-SWC | v1.1 - 08/22/2026 | Farm Soil and Water Conservation | Conserves soil and water; increases infiltration; reduces runoff | v2 - 8/26/26 |
| A6 DS - GULLY STABILIZATION | v2 - 09/23/2026 | Gully Rehabilitation | Arrests head-cutting; stabilizes sidewalls; reduces sediment export | n/a |
| A9 RETOFITTING-GLOBAL | v1 - 04/09/2026 | Retrofitting Watershed infrastructure on a regional basi | Retrofitting existing constructed conservation infrastructure with VGT to improve effectiveness on a regional basis. | n/a |
B
Slopes, earthworks and geotechnical stability
| Code | Version/date | Module | What it addresses | Specs Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 DS- ENGINEERED SLOPES | v4 - 8/26/26 | VGT for Engineered Slopes. An integrated bio-hydro-mechanical stabilization system | Steep, high or high-consequence slopes; vetiver with geofabrics and designed drainage; pore-pressure reduction. The escalation point for all B guides. | v1 - 8/26/26 |
| B2 GUIDE- LANDSLIP REPAIR | v2 - 09/23/26 | VGT for Landslip Repair | Shallow (2 m or less), inactive slips up to 500 m²; drainage first, then vetiver. Active, deep or large slides go to B1. | n/a |
| B3 GUIDE_SIMPLE-SLOPES | v2 - 09/23/26 | VGT for Simple Slope Stabilization | Cut and fill slopes of 35° or less and 5 m or less high. Schedules for rural roads, small embankments and pond walls, building sites, spoil, sediment traps and silt fences, firebreaks and post-fire recovery." tier now sits in B1. | n/a |
| B4 | Reserved | |||
| B5 DS- VERTISOL-ENGINEERING | v1 - 03/01/26 | Civil, Hydraulic and Geotechnical Applications on Vertisols | Small earthworks and soil–concrete interfaces on cracking clays. Farm-scale companion: D12. | n/a |
| B6 REF_STANDARDS-BOOK -ISLAM | Ist edition 01/01/26 | Standard Specificationfor Slope Stabilization Using Vetiver Grass | Book by Dr. Mohammad Shariful Islam with a focus on Bangladesh. Listed for reference; not a TVNI standard. | n/a |
C
Wastewater, effluent and pollution control
| Code | Version/date | Module | What it addresses | Specs Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 GUIDE-PLANTATION-EFFLUENT | v2 - 09/21/26 | Vetiver Applications for Treating Effluent from the Plantation Industry. (replaces coffee and palm oil modules) | coffee wet processing, oil palm mill effluent, and a short statement of evidence status for the other plantation crops. | n/a |
| C2 GUIDE-VETIVER-LATRINE | v1 - 09/09/26 | Vetiver Around Pit Latrines | Pathogen and nutrient reduction has not been measured. wall stabilization, and water removal | n/a |
| C3 GUIDE-TERTIARY-EFFLUENT | v2 - 09/21/26 | Tertiary Treatment of Residential and Institutional Wastewater | Polishing to compliance standards; removes residual solids | n/a |
| C4 GUIDE EFFLUENT BED | v1 - 09/21/26 | Sizing and Caring for a Vetiver Effluent Bed | For the person who owns, runs or looks after a vetiver effluent bed, and the field technician who helps them. It is not written for engineers. | n/a |
| C5 DS- LANDFILL | v2 -09/22/26 | Vetiver Grass Technology for Landfills | Leachate Phyto-Utilization, Slope and Cover Stabilization, and Seep Control | v2 -09/22/26 |
| C6 DS- RAINGARDEN | v2 - 09/03/26 | Vetiver Rain Gardens | Utilization, Slope and Cover Stabilization, and Seep Control | v1 09/03/26 |
| C7 GUIDE- RESIDENTIAL PLOT DRAINAGE | v1 - 09/03/26 | Treating mixed household drainage | Greywater, roof and yard runoff, and sewage (septic tank) leakage — on a single residential plot | n/a |
| C8 GUIDE-RAW-SEWAGE-DRAINS | v1 - 09/09/26 | Vetiver in Open Drains Carrying Untreated Sewage | For rural and peri-urban communities where sewage runs untreated in open drains and channels, and where conventional treatment is out of reach. | n/a |
| C9 GUIDE- FLOWER-EFFLUENT | v2 - 09/21/26 | Vetiver Grass Technology for the treatment of export floriculture effluent | This guide sets out how VGT can be applied to reduce the nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticide, suspended solids and organic load discharged by export flower farms to adjacent surface waters. | n/a |
| C10 GUIDE- FLOATING ISLANDS | v3 - 09/22/2026 | Vetiver Floating Islands | For pond cleanup, nutrient removal, and water-quality stabilization | n/a |
D
Livelihoods, products and community systems
| Code | Version/date | Module | What it addresses | Specs Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 GUIDE-HANDICRAFTS | v1 - 01/15/26 | Handicrafts | Vetiver-based craft production; rural enterprise; income for women’s groups | n/a |
| D2 GUIDE_INTEGRATED VETIVER OIL + SLIP PRODUCTION | v2 - 09/23/26 | Integrated Vetiver Oil and Slip Production | Vetiver oil plus planting material; value chains; supply reliability | n/a |
| D3 DS-ON-FARM-SWC | v1.1 - 8/22/26 | Farm Soil and Water Conservation | Conserves soil and water; increases infiltration; reduces runoff and erosion | v2 - 8/26/26 |
| D4 DS- MICROBIAL ROOT DIP | v3 - 7/22/26 | Microbial Root Dips for Vetiver Establishment | Farm-made inoculant to improve establishment and root regeneration | n/a |
| D5 GUIDE_AMF | v3 - 7/22/26 | Vetiver and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi — soil health, water and nutrient transfer | Shared mycorrhizal root zone between hedge and crop | n/a |
| D6 GUIDE_NEMATODE | v3 - 7/22/26 | Nematode Suppression and Soil Biological Recovery | Vetiver as a dead-end trap for nematodes in fields and agroforestry | n/a |
| D7 GUIDE_STEM_BORER | v3 - 7/22/26 | Dead-End Trap Plant for Cereal Stem Borers | Stem borer management in maize, sorghum and rice; hedge design; parasitoid support | n/a |
| D8 GUIDE-FORAGE | v2 - 7/26/26 | Forage Management of Vetiver Grass | Cutting regimes for forage yield, quality and drought reserve | n/a |
| D9 GUIDE_KITCHEN GARDEN | v2 - 6/11/26 | Kitchen Gardens - Vetiver based | With fact sheet -Swahili | n/a |
| D10 GUIDE_COMPARE SPECIES | v1.1 7/26/26 | Chrysopogon nigritanus (African black vetiver) compared with C. zizanioides (Asian vetiver) | Species choice; D10a adds Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) as a third comparison | n/a |
| D11 GUIDE_VFI-FISH | v1.1 - 08/16/26 | Vetiver Floating Islands and Tilapia Farming v1.1 (revised) | Combined water quality and aquaculture production | n/a |
| D12 DS- VERTISOL-AGRICULTURE | v2 - 8/18/26 | Agriculture, Soil Health and Water Management on Vertisols | Farm-scale companion to B5 | n/a |
| D13 GUIDE - FARM MODELS | v1 - 10/9/26 | Vetiver Farm Model Package (includes summary, guides, and fact sheets) | Eight model applications with start guides, fact sheets and support files | n/a |
| D14 GUIDE _SOIL CARBON | v2 - 7-26-26 | Vetiver and Soil Carbon | What can and cannot be claimed for soil carbon accumulation under vetiver | n/a |
| D15 GUIDE - VETIVER MULCH - VETICOMPOST | v1 - 8/14/26 | Vetiver Mulch Versus Veticompost | keep compost for high value crops and veges. Vetiver mulch for field crops | n/a |
| D16 GUIDE- PLANTING | v2.11 - 9/29/26 | Vetiver Planting Guide | planting instructions covering nearly all applications. Plant material, root and shoot trim, crown depth, spacing, firming and gap-filling. | n/a |
| D17 DS_PLANT QUALITY | v1.1 - 9/28/26 | Plant Quality | Description, Grading and Acceptance of Vetiver Planting Materia | n/a |
| D18 DS_NURSERY-MANAGEMENT | v1.1 - 9/28/36 | Nursery management | Vetiver Nursery Establishment, Management and Planting- Material Production | n/a |
Keeping the package current
These standards will keep developing, because VGT is a living technology and innovation, field learning and practitioner experience remain essential to it. TVNI welcomes feedback, case studies, corrections and technical contributions. Where errors are identified, modules are revised and the package is reissued; new modules are added as they are completed.
Contradicting field evidence is as welcome as corroborating evidence, and more useful.
Special Focus Notes
| VGT # | File Name | Date | Note Title & Link | Module Ref | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRAGON FRUIT | 09/29/26 | How Vetiver Benefits Dragon Fruit | D | Mechanisms, strength of evidence, and practical layout notes |
| 2 | DATE PALMS | 09/29/26 | Vetiver and Date Palms in the Gulf | D | Expected benefits, limits, and where to start |
| 3 | EGYPT-VETIVER | 09/29/26 | Vetiver in Egypt: Current Use and Potential | D | Status of vetiver |
| 4 | FORAGE | 09/29/26 | Getting the Best Forage Value from Vetiver | D | Management guidance for cut-and-carry and grazing |
| 5 | GRAPES | 09/29/26 | Climate change adaptation in vineyards: soil temperature, soil moisture, mycorrhizae, and nematodes, with field experience from Italy, Spain, South Africa, and Vietnam. | D | Climate change adaptation in vineyards: soil temperature, soil moisture, mycorrhizae, and nematodes, with field experience from Italy, Spain, South Africa, and Vietnam |
| 6 | VETIVER OIL-DESERT | 09/29/26 | Vetiver Oil in the Gulf States (desert conditions) | D | What is known, what is not, and whether production makes sense |
| 7 | FORAGE-VETIVER-MORINGA-AGATHI | 09/29/26 | Adding Protein to Vetiver Fodder: Moringa or Agathi | D | A practical note for farmers, extension workers, and Vetiver Service Companies |
| 8 | FORAGE-CAMEL | 09/30/26 | Vetiver as Forage for Camels, and Possible Parasite Control | D | A practical note for camel keepers, extension workers, and Vetiver Service Companies. Much of it is inferred and needs testing. |
| 9 | HIDDEN_BIOLOGICAL_BENEFITS | 10/9/26 | The Hidden Biological Benefits of Vetiver | D | Soil fungi (AMF), nematodes, stem borers, and helpful insects: |
| 10 | VETIVER WATER MANAGEMENT | 10/9/26 | Vetiver Water Management | D | Hydrology and hedge hydraulics: what a correctly planted hedge does to water, and why it |
| matters |