Introductory Agroforestry (1+1)

Agrisilvopastoral/Agrosilvopastoral System

 Agrisilvopastoral/Agrosilvopastoral System (Crops + Tree + Grasses/Animals)
This system has been grouped into two subgroups:

A. Home Gardens:-

• It is deliberate integration of trees, crop and animals in a same unit of land in some form of spatial and temporal sequence within the compounds of individual houses.
• This is one of the oldest agroforestry practices found in high rainfall area of South and South-East Asia.
• Home gardens are highly productive, extremely sustainable and very practicable.
  
• In India it is prevalent in Southern states like Kerala, Tamilnadu.
• Also common in North Eastern states like Tripura, Assam, West Bengal and part of Islands of Andaman and Nicobar.
• In India it is a common practice to plant trees around the habitation.
• It is also known as multilayered AFS
• Area of homestead varies from 0.2-0.5ha
• Tall tree/timber tree occupy the top most layer followed by fruit tree.
• Small shrubs also form the parts of home garden.
• Shade loving vegetables find their place in the ground layer.
• Trees provide timber, fruits and also support climber such as pepper, cucurbits, clove, yam, sweet potato, colocasia etc.
• Pineapple is a common fruit grown in home garden.
• In hills, the common spp. for home gardens is Grewia optiva, Ficus glomerata, Juglans regia and Punica granatum.
• In rural areas, fruit trees and commercial tree spp., such as Acacia and Neem are of common occurrence in most of the country.
• Cattle and poultry are the main component of homesteads.
• Forage spp. like Stylo, Guinea grass, Guatemala, Napier and Setaria cephalis variety Kazungula also find their place in home garden.
B. Woody Hedges for Browsing, Green Manuring, Mulching and Soil Conservation:-
In this system various woody hedges especially fast growing and coppicing fodder shrubs and trees are planted for the purpose of browse, mulch, green manure, soil conservation etc. The main aim of this system is the production of food/fodder/fuelwood and soil conservation. Species used are generally Erythrina spp., Leucaena leucocephala and Sesbania spp. etc.