Fruit production with beles as a sole crop. The planting distances for fruit production depend on the possibilities for crop management, especially weed control. Orchards intended for manual weeding can be planted using 4 to -5- m between rows. In those orchards intended for mechanized weed control the rows should be at least -5- m apart. The distance between plants for both systems is 2.5 to 3 -m. Using a 4 x 2.5 planting layout results in a planting density of 1000 plants per hectare. In the case of 5 x 2.5 the number of cuttings needed to plant a hectare is 800 (Plate 7).
Intercropping. It is possible to cultivate an annual crop in the alleys of the beles orchard, especially short crops, -during the juvenile stage of the plant. The alley crop is planted when the rainy season is well established. The roots of beles are strong competitors for any moisture provided by light showers early in the season. Therefore, it is necessary to provide enough space for both crops, beles and the intercrop. A minimum distance of - 6 - m between rows should be used. The distance between plants is again 2.5 to 3 m. In plots having contour lines is advisable to site a row of beles in each of the lines (Plate 8).
