Prediction of agroforestry adoption among farming communities of Kashmir valley, India: A logistic regression approach

The study investigated the socioeconomic and psychological variables that influence the agroforestry adoption in farming communities of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected in Baramulla and Kupwara districts utilizing multi-stage random sampling. The results revealed that regarding agroforestry adoption majority (52.11%) of the respondents belonged to medium category followed by low (27.47%) and high (20.42%) categories. The socioeconomic variables specified that the rural people are in underprivileged condition while they are in prosperous condition regarding psychological variables. The correlation analysis (r) indicated that among explanatory variables, education, social participation, family composition, size of land holding, main occupation, housing status, farm power, farm implements, livestock possession, wealth status, gross annual income, knowledge about agrforestry, attitude towards agroforestry and level of aspiration had shown positively significant correlation with the agroforestry adoption, while, the age had a non-significant correlation. All the explanatory variables jointly accounted 90.80 % (R2= 0.908) variation on the agroforestry adoption and among these, nine variables viz., education, size of land holding, main occupation, farm power, livestock possession, wealth status, knowledge about agrforestry, attitude towards agroforestry and level of aspiration were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in influencing the agroforestry adoption. The study recommends that recognition and exploitation of explanatory variables that predict agroforestry adoption, needs due consideration among policy makers, researchers and extension providers as prominent strategy for agroforestry promotion and development

Perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry among rural societies of Kashmir, India

People’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry have become fundamental elements of sustainable agroforestry management. The study examined the multiplicities and dimensions of people’s perceptions about agroforestry values, attitudes towards agroforestry benefits and resources preferences in agroforestry and their socioeconomic determinants in rural societies of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected employing multi-stage random sampling. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for the data analysis. Results indicated that the material values (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were perceived as the most important while the perception of the non-material values (rank 4th to 10th) were adjudged moderately important. People’s attitudes towards the tangible benefits (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were highly favourable whereas attitudes towards intangible benefits (rank 4th to 10th) were indifferent. The rural people expressed higher preferences for fuel wood, fodder, vegetable, fruit, and timber (rank 1st to 5th) while moderate or low preferences for medicine, cottage industry/ handicrafts, fiber/ floss, oilseeds and animals/ birds/ insects etc. (rank 6th to 10th). F statistics (p < 0.05) showed significant differences between the material and non-material values, tangible and non-tangible benefits and resources groups. Correlation co-efficients (r) confirmed the importance of socioeconomic attributes in influencing people’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry. The findings will help to refine and enrich the knowledge-base to provide an effective framework for decisions and policy making to sustain and maintain agroforestry health and services. The integration of people’s socio-psychological conditions in sustainable agroforestry management will be effective strategy commensurating the current development and future challenges

Standardization of nursery technology for Allepo pine - Pinus halepensis (Mill.): An introduced pine in Kashmir valley

The present investigations entitled “Standardization of nursery technology for Allepo pine - Pinus halepensis (Mill.): An introduced pine in Kashmir valley” were undertaken in the Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar during the year 2008 to 2010. In the experiment-I, the Allepo pine cones were collected at fifteen days interval till maturation. This experiment consisted of 16 treatments (collection dates) with four replications each and was laid out in completely randomized design. The study conducted on maturity indices revealed that cone having glossy red brown colour have matured seeds (1st March onwards), having lower fresh cone weight (53.86 g); minimum cone specific gravity (0.91-0.87); lower moisture content (19.65%); maximum seed weight of 100 seeds (g) [fresh 3.86 g; dry 3.09 g] and having maximum germination percentage (43.25). Therefore, the cone colour should be considered as an important index of ripeness. The cone should be collected in the month of March when colour of cone turns glossy red brown. The experiment-II deals with effect of seven storage periods/ treatments at room temperature (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days) on germinability and viability of Allepo pine seeds. The experiment consisted of seven treatments with four replications each and was laid out in completely randomized design in laboratory. The fresh Allepo pine seeds collected possess high viability (79.20 to 80.08%) but low germinability. A maximum of 40.37 per cent germination was observed in mature seeds which declined to 33.25 per cent at the end of 90 days storage period. This indicated that Allepo pine seeds do possess inherent dormancy which further deepened with storage. In the experiment-III, the Allepo pine cones were subjected to seven seed extraction methods/ treatments, with three replications laid in completely randomized design. The objective of the experiment was to identify a method to extract maximum number of seeds in minimum number of days and having maximum germinability. The conventional practice of extracting seeds from cones of Pinus halepensis consists in drying of cones in the sun. This process takes about five weeks for seed extraction. In the experiment conducted a new technique has been identified which achieved seed extraction of Allepo pine in eight days. The new technique (T4) involved dipping of cones in water for 10 minutes followed by drying at 30OC for 23:50 hours and shaking daily. The technique did not show any adverse effect on seed germination and produced the germination of 38.87 per cent. In the experiment-IV, Allepo pine seeds were subjected to six stratification periods at fifteen days interval i.e. 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days. Five stratification methods i.e. dry stratification with media, wet stratification with media, dry stratification without media, wet stratification without media and stratification at room temperature prior to sowing test were used. The experiment was laid out in laboratory condition (complete randomized block design) with four replications each. It was revealed that wet stratifying method using sand for a prolonged period of time (75 days) resulted into significantly better germinability of Allepo pine seeds under laboratory conditions. In experiment-V, the seeds were subjected to eleven different pre-sowing treatments. This experiment was laid out separately in laboratory (completely randomized block design) and in nursery (randomized block design) condition with four and three replications, respectively. It was found that the seeds treated with 200 ppm GA3 for 48 hours or 200 ppm kinetin for 48 hours gave better germinability under laboratory conditions whereas under field conditions, soaking seeds with 200 ppm GA3 for 24 hours produced maximum germination and better seedling growth. In experiment-VI, the seedlings of Pinus halepensis were transplanted at four different spacings viz. 2.5 x 5 cm, 5 x 5 cm, 5 x 10 cm and 10 x 10 cm and were given nitrogen fertilizer and organic manure in different combinations. This experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications each. It was observed that on application of 50 kg N ha-1 in two equal splits (half at transplanting + another half after 30 days of transplanting) plus 1.5 tones of FYM ha-1 at 10 x 10 cm spacing was found to be the most promising treatment combination for producing more biomass per plant and healthy nursery stock. In experiment-VII, six types of containers and seven types of growing media were assessed for growth and development of Allepo pine seedlings under nursery conditions. This experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design with three replications. It was observed that the seedlings raised in root trainer (300 cc) with potting mixture of forest soil : sand : FYM : Dalweed in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3: 3 registered significantly better seedling growth parameters of Allepo pine