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RE: The Holistic Orchard: Tree Tips for Tree Keepers
The ring of comfrey around the drip line looks interesting. Living outside of US/Canada/Europe it's frustrating though how many of these "essential" books are utterly useless out of their little climate pocket. For me personally, that is. Trying to work out exactly what comfrey's function IS and then looking for a local Asian equivalent? Might take a while... LOL. The idea of fruit trees of itself is also very western - much of what we eat - pineapples, banana etc grow very differently. I think we need downloadable online modules about food production for every climate zone.... Asians are not big readers traditionally (books mold during the monsoon LOL) so need to think differently.
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Hmm... I have zero experience with a tropical variant of comfrey... Or a tropical anything of anything for that matter.
As for what Comfrey does, it is called a dynamic accumulator. It goes deep in the ground (I've heard up to twelve feet or 4m) and brings up minerals in bioavailable form. Yes, trees can definitely go deeper, but not many other things do. It's NPK I'd 1.8-0.5-5.3, it has up to 35% protein (massive for a plant), and is a very high source of B vitamins; I think B12. Folks use it as a compost activator and for comfrey compost tea. It is also widely used as a chop-and-drop fertilizing mulch and a living mulch. None of that says anything of the medicinal uses either.
The idea is to have a multi-function food for the tree very close at hand. It's less work than growing your compost and mulch on one side of the garden and your trees on the other. More efficient.
For a source on tropical matters, I know Geoff Lawton is in the sub tropics, so kind of a middle ground between your tropics and my hot temperate climes. I know he works with bananas a lot, and I'm pretty sure comfrey too. It may be compatible with your area.
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We love our comfrey for this reason. Plus we use it medicinally (topically). I love plants that offer multiple functions. And to boot, it's pretty when it blossoms. The pollinators LOVE it. It makes an excellent chop and drop as well and compost tea. I use it to activate biochar as well. It truly is an amazing plant.