Long-term productivity of a Grevillea robusta-based overstorey agroforestry system in semi-arid Kenya

Lott, J.E.; Howard, S. B.; Ong, C. K.; Black, C. R.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(00)00267-x

Cited by 50 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These favorable factors seem to result in higher values of growth and yield parameters of Solanum khasianum outside tree canopy conditions. Chauhan (2000), Karikalan et al (2002), Lott et al (2000), Okorio (2000) and Singh et al (2012a) have earlier made similar observations for different agricultural crop and grasses under agroforestry systems. Apart from above the lower values of growth parameters and yield attributes of Solanum khasianum in below canopy of Chir pine might be because of allelopathic effect of tree on crops.…”

Section: Effect Of Tree Canopymentioning

confidence: 70%

Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In mid hills of Western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh India, growth, yield and economics of Solanum khasianum as a potential medicinal herb under Pinus roxburghii (Chir pine) plantation has been studied for two consecutive years to assess the performance of Solanum khasianum in undercanopy of Pinus roxburghii for developing Solanum khasianum and Pinus roxburghii based innovative silvi-medicinal system. Methods: Growth parameters such as plant height, number of branches per plant and leaf area index followed by yield were estimated after Solanum khasianum was grown on three topographical aspects as; Northern, North -western and Western at a spacing of 45 cm × 45 cm, followed by three tillage depths as; minimum (0 cm), medium (up to 10 cm) and deep tillage (up to 15 cm), in open and below canopy conditions treatment. The study was conducted to explore the possibility of using Solanum khasianum based silvi-medicinal system to utilize the below canopy of Chir pine forest for enhancing the productivity of forests besides the conservation of the medicinal herb. Results: The growth parameters such as plant height, number of branches per plant and leaf area index were nonsignificantly affected by topographical aspects and tillage practices, both below canopy and open conditions except fresh weight and dry weight of berries during harvesting stage. The maximum yield (0.61 t•ha −1 ) was observed on Western aspect in open conditions as compared to below canopy of Chir pine. The highest gross returns were observed for the crop cultivated on Western aspect under deep tillage in open conditions than other aspect and tillage combinations. However the positive net returns from the crops raised in below canopy of Chir pine indicates its possible economic viability under agroforestry system as the gross returns was higher than the cost of cultivation. Conclusion: Solanum khasianum when grown in below canopy of Pinus roxburghii, its growth and yield indicated positive net returns. Solanum khasianum and Pinus roxburghii based silvi-medicinal system has the potential to enhance the overall productivity of Chir pine forest. This silvi-medicinal system gives scope for utilizing floor Chir pine forests for growth and production of Solanum khasianum beside conservation of the medicinal herb.

show abstract

Section: Effect Of Tree Canopymentioning

confidence: 70%

Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There was need to understand and consider the time Jatropha sheds its leaves, the branching and rooting pattern, the frequency and how much leafy matter could be put up by the plant. Most farmers, therefore, decided to use mono cropping of due to the perceived competition between trees and crops, among other factors [38].…”

Section: Impacts Of Jatropha Growing On Crop Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Impact and Challenges of Jatropha curcas L. Projects in North-Western Province, Zambia: A Case of Solwezi District

Kalinda

Moses²,

Chama

et al. 2015

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forest products, wood and non-wood, remain vital among smallholder households in Zambia with charcoal being the most sought after product. This has led to increased exploitation of forest trees to meet the needs for fuel wood, among others. However, Jatropha curcas plant has been identified as a potential fuel source. In the early 2000s, profit-making organizations encouraged smallholder households to grow Jatropha for use as an alternative fuel source. This paper reports on a study conducted in Solwezi between 2011 and 2014 to evaluate the impact of Jatropha cultivation for biofuel production. A sample of 100 small-scale farmers involved in Jatropha cultivation and key informants were interviewed to evaluate the impact of growing Jatropha at the small-scale level. Results show that farmers lost out on time; income from sale of edible non-wood forest products; and experienced reduction in maize (Zea mays) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) production, worsening household economic conditions. Farmers attributed this loss to unclear policy alignment on biofuel production by government. We therefore recommend that project implementation should involve interactions of all legislative bodies and any other concerned stakeholders. There is also a need to promote the value chain, from production to marketing, which focuses on minimizing detrimental effects on the livelihood of small-scale farmers. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 9908

show abstract

“…The observed reduction of maize yield (Ong et al, 2000) calls for intensive pruning to reduce competition for light when crop production is the primary objective of the farmer, although less intensive pruning may be acceptable in agroforestry systems where tree production is a primary objective (Bai et al, 2016). It is essential for farmers to understand that there is a need to manage trees to maintain the balance between tree and annual crop products (Ong et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 1998).…”

Section: Both a Acuminata And M Lutea Reduce Incident Light And Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This reduction explained lower maize grain yield and above ground biomass under trees as compared to open fields in Bugesera (Lott et al 2000;Dilla et al 2017). Desclaux et al (2016) suggest that it is crucial to consider plant, leaf shape and phenology while breeding for shade tolerance in agroforestry.…”

Section: Lai and Plant Height Are Reduced By Tree Presence For Opvs mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hundreds of different nitrogen fixing leguminous trees are used in agroforestry (Giller, 2001) and their N2-fixing ability can significantly reduce competition for this resource (García- Barrios and Ong, 2004). In East Africa, the effect of several different tree species such as Grevillea robusta (Lott et al, 2000) and Eucalyptus spp. (Mugunga, 2016;Tadele and Teketay, 2014) on crop growth has been studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Farming with trees: a balancing act in the shade

Ndoli¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The smallholder agriculture sector in East Africa is the dominant economic and social activity for millions of farm households who are often resource-poor, food-insecure and most vulnerable to climate change. In this region, population pressure has led to shorter fallow periods or continuous cropping even on hillslopes causing erosion and leading to reduced soil organic matter content and nutrient mining without replenishment. Consequently, poor agricultural productivity has led to food shortages and these problems are likely to intensify in the region, as the human population is growing faster than in other parts of the world. Agroforestry, a low-input technology, was shown to contribute to the enhancement of food production while ensuring sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa.Agroforestry may improve food security by increasing soil fertility and providing additional income from tree products. Thus, agroforestry is now receiving increasing attention as a sustainable landmanagement option and some countries in East Africa (e.g. Rwanda) have pledged to restore up to 100% of their agricultural land mainly through agroforestry by the year 2020. Nevertheless, crop yields reduction in agroforestry are frequent due to competition for resources among trees and crops.In recent studies, tree canopy and root pruning were tested to improve light availability and resource use efficiency but studies that tackle crop management and tillage options to optimize crop productivity in the agroforestry systems are scarce.This thesis aims to assess the importance of agroforestry across Rwanda and its implication on crop productivity and food security of farm households, explore and recommend the maize varieties and tillage options that could minimize tree-crop competition in the equatorial savannah of Rwanda and Ethiopia. The approach combined household survey on the contribution of trees on household income and food security in six agroecologies of Rwanda, experiments on the microclimate and fertility effects of trees on crops in sub-humid region of Rwanda, maize variety testing in agroforestry systems and trials on conservation agriculture with trees in the equatorial savannah of two East African countries: Rwanda (Bugesera site) and Ethiopia (Meki site). The survey in Rwanda found that food security increases with increasing farm size and farmers with more trees tended to be wealthier (e.g. with larger land and more often higher crop and livestock income) and therefore tended to be more food secure in half of the agroecologies. The proportion of household income that came from tree products was the least among sources of income suggesting that most tree products are not sold but kept by farmers for their own use. Yet tree vi income was important for about 12% of the farmers, contributing more than 20% of their overall income. Households having low food security relied more on income from tree products than those with higher food security status. Therefore, income from tree products can be seen as a 'safety net' for the po...

show abstract

Long-term productivity of a Grevillea robusta-based overstorey agroforestry system in semi-arid Kenya

Cited by 50 publications

References 27 publications

Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya

Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya

Economic Impact and Challenges of Jatropha curcas L. Projects in North-Western Province, Zambia: A Case of Solwezi District

Farming with trees: a balancing act in the shade

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About