Performance of pastoral, silvipastoral and silvicultural systems in Alkali soils of Indo-Gangetic plains

Abstract

A field study to find out the suitable agro forestry systems in a highly alkali soil and their effect on improving the soil properties was initiated during 1995 at Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Regional Research station, Lucknow. The soil was poor in organic matter (0.08%) and available N (94kg ha-1) but high in available P (25kg ha-1) and K (237.44kg ha-1). The treatments include: T1, Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca) for 4 years followed by Gutton panic (Panicum maximum) grass (without amendments); T2, Vilayati babul (Prosopis juliflora) as sole tree crop; T3, Deshi babul (Acacia nilotica) as sole tree crop; T4, Vilayati babul (Prosopis juliflora) + Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca) for 4 years followed by berseem (Trifolium alexendrium) for 3 years (without amendments) and T5, Deshi babul (Acacia nilotica) + Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca) for 4 years followed by Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) for 3 years. After 84 months of planting all the growth parameters including survival percent, plant height, diameter at breast height (DBH), diameter at stump height (DSH) and lopped biomass of Prosopis juliflora and Acacia nilotica grown in combination with inter crops of grasses were higher as compared to the sole plantation. Plant height was recorded to be 20 and14% higher in Prosopis juliflora and Acacia nilotica respectively grown in combination with grasses than the sole plantation of these species. The pH, EC and organic carbon of the surface soil (0-15cm) with Prosopis juliflora in combination with Kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca) for 4 years followed by Berseem (Trifolium alexendrium) for 3 years silvipastoral system has reduced to the level of 8.87. However, pH was > 9.0 in case of the remaining treatments. Vilayati Babool (Prosopis juliflora) + Berseem (Trifolium alexendrium) silvipastoral system gave highest net return (Rs. 15155ha-1 yr-1) followed by Gutton panic (Panicum maximum) as sole crop (Rs.7660 ha-1 yr-1) than the sole plantation of Prosopis juliflora (Rs.5610 ha-1 yr-1) and Acacia nilotica (Rs.3260 ha-1 yr-1) and appeared to be the most suitable and economically viable alternate land use system for alkali soils.