Enhancing the Productivity of Grassland and Wasteland through Management in Hills

Total area available for grazing in the country is about 40% of the land area. Pasture lands constitute the main grazing resources of the country, available over an area of 12 million ha (3.94% of the geographical area). An idea of the meager fodder availability can be had from the fact that about 50% of the cattle population, depending largely upon free rangeland grazing in forests, pastures, village commons and the like, end up getting only about 1.5 kg of dry fodder/ day/ ACU (Adult Cattle Unit) as against the healthy fodder requirement norm of 3% body weight. The grasslands and pastures not only form the major source of forage for the livestock but also provide habitat to a large variety of wild animals and birds and are home to a myriad species of plants, many of which are ‘threatened’. Any further degradation of these habitats is likely to put many more species under threat. Hills and mountains are distributed all over the country covering 29 states. Constraints which are responsible for the low production of fodder in hill states can be broadly grouped in agro ecosystem constraints, management constraints and social and policy constraints. The major strategies to raise the fodder production could be sustainable management of fodder producing ecosystems, improvement in fodder productivity, expansion of area under fodder sources, improvement in cattle, system management: and policies. The fodder cultivation and management in this region has been always neglected, though livestock rearing is an important occupation of farmers in the area (Bisht et al., 2009). Therefore in the present study several management techniques for the improvement and enhancing the fodder productivity natural grassland and wasteland have been studied

Forage Production in Peach Based Hortipastoral System in Indian Himalaya

The North West Himalayan region (NWHR) exhibits a great diversity in geology, physiography, climate, socio-ecology and land use pattern and supports vast livestock population. The annual average rainfall varies from 80 mm in Ladakh to over 2000 mm in some parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Livestock rearing is an integral part of hill agriculture. The huge animal population (190 lakh) and poor fodder availability (30 to 40 % of the requirement) has widen the gap between demand and supply of forage crops in the region. The area under permanent pasture and grasslands in NWHR is said to be of 15.8 lakh ha and a major portion of it is located in Himachal Pradesh (HP). Considerable area is under grazing lands and but on the whole their productivity (quantity and quality-wise) is rather poor and is continuously deteriorating. The availability of green grasses during winter season is practically nil due to severe winter and burning of forest (Bisht and Yadav, 2014). Thus, livestock is facing acute nutritional stress due to shortage of nutritional fodder and high cost of concentrates. The commonly preferred horticultural based agro-forestry systems are agri-horticulture, silvi-horticulture and silvipastoral in the NWHR. Various studies showed that peach (Prunus persica L.) which belong to family Rosaceae can be intercropped with crops and grasses in Himalayan region. Turmeric performed better than ginger in the peach garden (Arora and Mohan, 1986). The perennial vegetation have been the primary source to rejuvenate productivity of land through recycling of nutrients and make soil physico-chemical properties favorable for plant growth. Farming system approach integrating all the components viz., soil-plant-fodder-animal management is necessary for the economic well being of the inhabitants. Hence, it is suggested to develop hortipastoral systems/models by introducing pasture and foliage component under fruit trees so as to provide nutritious green forage and foliage (Pathak and Roy, 1994) to animals for getting higher production from unit of land in rainfed areas. Hortipastoral system, where in the inter spaces between fruit trees species are utilized for cultivation of grasses and grass legume mixtures. Winter grasses i.e., Perennial rye, Tall fescue, Grassland manava and Hima are grown in Sikkim, J&K, HP, Nilgiri hills and Kumaon and Garhwal hills of Uttaranchal. Under irrigated conditions it can also be grown successfully in subtropical region as winter forage. These grasses are extremely resistant to cold and frost, a good crop can be raised between 1800 to 2500 m altitudes, but in mid hills its cultivation is feasible under irrigated condition. Hortipastoral is a fodder production system to meet the acute shortage of fodder, to improve the soil and to increase the farmer’s income. This will combine horticultural trees, grasses and use of wasteland for fodder production. Therefore, the production techniques for ensuring green fodder supply during winter months, and total fodder supply for the larger period of the year by adoption of hortipastoral system with improved grass species needs to be exploited

Sustainable Agroecosystems for Livelihood Security in Indian Himalayas

Agroforestry systems are an age-old practice in the Indian Himalayan region. Agroforestry deals with the combination of tree species with crop plants, fisheries, animals, bee keeping, and so on, and it is based on the principle of optimum utilization of land. Agrihorticulture, silvihorticulture, hortipastoral, and silvipastoral systems are diversified land use options for agroforestry in the hill region. The study was conducted at experimental farm Hawalbagh (29o36′N and 79o 40′ E, 1250 m amsl) of Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, India. Study in an agri-horti system revealed that ragi (Eluesine coracana) and soybean (Glysine max) during kharif (rainy season) and wheat (Triticum estivum) and lentil (Lens esculenta) during rabi (winter season) can be grown successfully with pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis) tree without significant reduction in the yield of the crop. However, grain yield of these crops was numerically higher in the field without pecan nut tree. In fruit-based agri-horti system four fruit crops, hill lemon (Citrus limon), pear (Pyrus communis), plum (Prunus domestica), and apricot (Prunus armeniaca) were planted with soybean in kharif and dual purpose wheat during rabi season. During initial years, no significant effect on grain yield was observed with the presence of different fruit trees. Green forage yield varied from 4600 to 5900 kg/ha in different treatments. In different treatments, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and turmeric (Curcuma longa), turmeric and taro (Colocasia esculenta), and two varieties of turmeric (Pant Pitabh and Swarna) were grown under Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia variegata, and Celtis australis. Turmeric and ginger produced significantly higher yield (12.04 and 7.99 t/ha) under oak. The highest rhizome yield was obtained under Quercus leucotrichophora (11,738 kg/ha) followed by Bauhinia variegata. Pant Pitabh gave significantly higher yield (10,860 kg/ha) than swarna. Improved systems with five tree species, that is, Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia retusa, Melia azedarach, and Morus alba and four grasses, that is, Setaria kazugulla, Setaria nandi, Congo signal, and Broad leaf paspalum (Paspalum spp.) were tested under the silvipastoral system. Quercus leucotrichophora yielded (10,675 kg/ha) significantly higher green biomass than others, and the lowest green biomass was harvested from Grewia optiva. Among grasses, Setaria nandi produced the highest green forage (6234 kg/ha). Thus, in hilly terrain, planting of interspatial woody perennials, with least negative influences on the agronomic crops, seems productive in agroforestry system for settled farming. Therefore, agroforestry is a set of land use alternative, which if developed for resource poor farmers, can provide increased values and reduced risks and it should be made more popular in the rural areas

Evaluation of digital elevation model in hilly region of Uttarakhand: A case study of experimental farm Hawalbagh

Not AvailableDigital Elevation Model (DEM) is used to display terrestrial information on map. Moreover, DEMs are often used in geographic information systems (GIS), and serve as a basis for generation of relief map. The present study was conducted to evaluate the google earth (GE) derived DEM with three established open source DEMs such as, shuttle radar topographic mission (SRTM) DEM, advanced space borne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) DEM and advanced land observing satellite phased array type l−band synthetic aperture radar (ALOS PALSAR) DEM. The study area of present research is experimental farm, Hawalbagh of the ICAR− Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora, India which lies in middle Himalayas using online tool (GPS visualizer). The accuracy statistics were evaluated using 100 points in the study area having varying topography with three DEMs such as, SRTM DEM, ASTER DEM and ALOS PALSAR DEM. The result showed that google earth data was positively correlated with all established 2 DEM with r value of 0.88 for SRTM, 0.92 for ALOS PALSAR Dem and 0.83 for ASTER DEM. The result showed that the accuracies for the google earth derived DEM is suitable for hydrological and other water resources modelling.Not Availabl

Trend Analysis of Streamflow and Rainfall in the Kosi River Basin of Mid-Himalaya of Kumaon Region, Uttarakhand

Due to climate change phenomenon and substantial decrease in water resources, analyzing the streamflow trend is of significant importance. In the present study, investigation was carried out to find rainfall and streamflow trends in the Kosi river watershed at different timescales from 1986 to 2016. Kosi river is one of the principal rivers in the Kumaon region. The different methods employed for trend detection of streamflow and rainfall were the Mann–Kendall (MK) test and the Sen’s slope (SS) estimator. Results showed a statistically significant decreasing trend in pre-monsoonal and annual rainfall with a Sen’s slope of -2.27 and -1.49 mm/year, respectively. The decreasing trends in pre-monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter streamflow were found during 1986–2016, which were not statistically significant. The results of the study help in understanding the variation and availability of rainfall and streamflow in different seasons of the year and motivate to adopt effective water management and agricultural practices for rainfed hills

Soil Enzymes: Indicator for Soil Health under Fruit based Agri-Horti System

Agroforestry as a sustainable land management system, which increases the yield of the land, combines production of crops (including tree crops) and forest plants and/or animals simultaneously or sequentially. Among the different agroforestry system practices in hill area agri-horti system is one of the most important system because of its specific environmental conditions and natural availability of wide range of fruit trees (citrus, apple, walnut, plum, peach, pear, apricot etc.). In Northwestern hill region viz. Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir horticulture is the backbone of these states economy which supports about 1.5-2.0 million families and, provides direct or indirect employment to 8-10 million peoples with revenue of more than 1 billion $ (USD) annually. In several studies it was reported that plant’s active root system releases about 17% of photosynthate detained in the form of organic compounds into the rhizosphere, most of which is available to the plant by the different soil microbial activities. The soil enzymatic activity play a significant role in efficient utilization of natural resources through agri-horti production system to enhance the soil sustainability and system productivity by the mechanisms of organic matter decomposition, soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, catalyzing several biochemical reactions in the soil system1,2. In recent years, studies soil enzymes activity have engaged the attention of many researchers. However, most of these studies are confined to agricultural cropping systems3 and forest ecosystems but, information regarding those under temperate fruit crops like peach, pear, apricot, lemon, plum etc., are very limited. The hypothesis of this experiment was that the different temperate fruit crops could have differential microbial activity in the rhizospheric soil (surface and sub-surface), influenced by management practice as well as quality of litter fall and root exudates. We assume that information produced from this study will help in understanding of microbial mediated nutrient dynamics and their management under temperate fruit crops in N-W hilly area

Climatic Variation and Its Impacts on Yield and Water Requirement of Crops in Indian Central Himalaya

Climate is most important factor affecting agriculture, and issues related to climate and its implications have attracted attention of policy makers globally. The farm sector, particularly marginal ecosystems in mountains are vulnerable because of unpredictable variation and severe sink limitations. Efforts to impart resilience to farm and its allied sector are an urgent need. The climatic parameters play very important role to determine type of crops, cattle rearing and the life style adopted by the people. Moreover, weather has a significant impact on crop growth and development. Weather plays a vital role and affects the production and productivity of the crops. According to an estimate, weather contributes 67% variation in productivity and rest of the factors (soil, nutrient and management practices etc.) accounts for 33%. Therefore, there is a need of in-depth analysis of each meteorological parameters and identification of their trend over the years in order to identify and adapt suitable agriculture practices, better adaptable crops, varieties and their duration, time of field preparation, sowing time and irrigation as per the climatic conditions of the region. This will lead farming community to plan strategies of agriculture operation to obtain optimum yield. The climatic data from the meteorological observatory of ICAR-VPKAS, Hawalbagh located at mid hill condition (1250 m amsl) were analyzed for different periods (annual, seasonal, monthly, weekly). It was revealed that rainfall is decreasing over the years but significant (P < 0.05) decrease was recorded at mid hills. The maximum temperature is increasing significantly (P < 0.05) during post-monsoon and winter season however decreasing in monsoon season whereas minimum temperature is decreasing round the year. These changes in rainfall and temperatures are affecting production and productivity of the crops, as hills are largely rainfed. In terms of crop water demand, there is no need to apply irrigation during the rainy season except the transplanted rice. However, during the winter season as there is more than 60% of water deficit to irrigate the crops. The proper understanding of climate is necessary to bring sustainability in hill agriculture by adjusting crop sowing window and other operations as per suitability of the climate

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Not AvailableCold stress is a major environmental constraint to plant productivity. Cold-induced losses in yield probably exceed those from all other causes, since both the severity and duration of the stress are critical. Plants have evolved special mechanisms to overcome the life-endangering influence of low temperature and to survive freezing. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) have a high potential in agriculture because they can improve plant growth, especially under limiting or stress (cold/chilling) conditions. The agricultural importance of cold-tolerant microbes stems from the fact that the world over temperate agro-ecosystems is characterized by low temperatures and short growing seasons that subject both plant and microbial life to cold-temperature induced stress. Hence, there is a need to identify a group of potential PGPRs that could retain their functional traits under cold (low)-temperature conditions. Such microbes can be profitably used as bioinoculants in agricultural production systems in the temperate regions of the world. This chapter deals with the effect of temperature on plants and management of cold stress by using cold-tolerant PGPRs in improving soil quality and productivity of agricultural crops.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableCold-tolerant microorganisms are endowed with the ability to grow at 0°C, though their growth optima lie in the mesophilic range. To overcome the stress induced by low temperatures they have evolved a variety of adaptive responses at the cellular and molecular levels. Multiple cell membrane modifications ensure that solute transport is not impaired at low temperatures. Other mechanisms include the synthesis of cold-shock proteins (Csps), cold acclimation proteins (Caps), cryoprotectants, ice nucleation factors, cold-adapted enzymes, and RNA degradosomes. The agricultural importance of such microbes stems from the fact that the world over temperate agro-ecosystems are characterized by low temperatures and short growing seasons that subject both plant and microbial life to cold temperature induced stress. Hence, there is a need to identify potential microbes that retain their functional traits under low temperature conditions. Such microbes can be profitably used as inoculants in agricultural production systems in the temperate regions of the world. This chapter deals with the cold tolerance/resistance mechanisms operating in microorganisms and the utility of cold-tolerant microbes in improving soil quality and productivity of agricultural crops.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableAgriculture in hill and mountain ecosystems is predominantly rainfed with common occurrence of moisture stress. It is a natural disaster which evolves in time and its impacts last for a long time. In the present investigation, long-term monthly precipitation data for 40 years (1980–2019) were used for characterizing agricultural drought in Almora and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand in India. Different drought indices based on meteorological data like standard precipitation index (SPI), percentage of departure (Pd) and percent of normal (Pn) were used. Percentage of departure is calculated from deviation of monthly precipitation from the long-term average monthly precipitation. Percent of normal is calculated by dividing the precipitation by normal precipitation for time being considered. SPI values were calculated based on gamma distribution of long-term monthly precipitation data. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between monthly percentage of departure and different SPI time scales (1, 3 and 6 months) were analyzed. SPI-1 (July and August) for both the stations showed very strong correlation with the corresponding monthly percentage of departure (r > 0.97) than SPI-3 and SPI-6. Therefore, it is suggested that SPI as a stand-alone indicator should not be interpreted to identify drought in a hilly region.Not Availabl