Abstract
Productivity of agricultural crops under traditional agri-hortculture system alongwith structure, composition and diversity of fruit trees and shrub species in mid hill situation of Garhwal Himalaya, India between 1000 to 2000 m asl during summer and winter seasons on northern and southern aspect were studied. The tree density, composition and diversity in the system varied depending upon aspect, landholding and requirements of the farmers. A total of 12 fruit tree species were recorded in agri-horticulture system; of which 4 trees were common in northern and southern aspect and 6 trees were only noticed in northern aspect while 2 in the southern. The apple tree (Malus domestica) was recorded to be dominant fruit tree species with highest IVI values on both northern and southern aspect with prime preference by the farmers for high additional economic return in agri-horticulture system. Among the shrubs, the 6 shrub species were recorded on the northern aspect whereas there number was 16 on southern aspect. The agricultural crop diversity was higher on the northern aspect in summer and winter season. The average annual productivity of grain under agri-horticulture system recorded 1106 kg·ha–1·year–1 on northern aspect and 1122 kg·ha–1·year–1 on southern with a reduction of 34.56% and 38.29% compared to the sole agriculture crops. The aspect and season also played significantly role in grain, straw and biological productivity of agricultural crops present in agri-horticulture and sole cropping systems. In general there was reduction in yield of agricultural crops under fruit trees but this reduction is supplemented by fruit production which support and sustain the rural community of this hilly region.
Highlights
Cultivation of agricultural crop alonwith fruit trees (Agrihorticulture) is an exclusive and unique practice in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India
Agri-horticulture systems in the Garhwal Himalayan region are preferred by the farmers in order to produce fruits and crops from the same piece of land
Among the temperate fruit tree species in the northern aspect, the highest frequency (55%), density (1.55 trees 100 m–2), Total Basal Cover (TBC) (623.08 cm2 100 m–2) and Importance Value Index (IVI) (63.65) values were recorded for Malus domestica, this species was recorded to be dominant species (Table 1)
Summary
Cultivation of agricultural crop alonwith fruit trees (Agrihorticulture) is an exclusive and unique practice in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. Fruit trees are planted and retained by the farmers as associate crops in the different places on agricultural fields of this region. The presence of trees create hindrance during agricultural operation and on the agricultural productivity but their other benefits bound farmers to grow them in the suitable places. The status of natural regeneration of tree crop is very poor in the existing systems due to the deliberate removal of seedlings from the field during cultural and other operations. The present study is an attempt to analyze the aspectwise study on structure and composition of trees in existing agri-horticulture system and their impact on agricultural yield in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India
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