Description
The interspaces (alleyways) in fruit orchards are generally not utilized for cultivation of perennial forage crops by a majority of farmers. These alleyways are often occupied by weeds or kept bare or clean with repeated tillage. The weeds may act as alternate/collateral hosts, thereby harboring pests and pathogens that may harm the fruit trees. In addition to this, the frequent tillage may subject the soil to erosion losses. Intercropping of perennial forage grasses and/or legumes with fruit crops is thus beneficial for not only providing high quality forage but also for providing various ecosystem services.Owing to an ever burgeoning population, degraded grasslands,shortage of fodder, and inability of farmers to earmark adequate land for fodder production, it becomes imperative to exploit the interspaces in fruit orchards. Yield and quality of forages can be increased by cultivating forage grasses and legume species in appropriate mixtures. The present study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of several perennial temperate forage grass/legume combinations as an effective approach for weed management, soil fertility enhancement, and increased forage resource availability in apple/almond-based horti-pastoral systems in the northwestern Himalayan region of India during 2015 to 2020. The treatments consisted of various temperate perennial grasses (tall fescue, orchard grass, little seed canary grass, and timothy) and temperate perennial legumes (red and white clover) arranged in a randomised block design with three replications. In apple-based hortipasture, maximum yields were obtained with tall fescue + red clover (12.1 t/ha dry fodder yield) followed by orchard grass + red clover (10.45 t/ha dry fodder yield). Data on the effect of forage crops on soil fertility showed that organic carbon (%) varied significantly in various combinations, with maximum soil organic carbon being observed in red clover + apple (0.92%) followed by white clover + apple (0.89%). However,minimum soil organic carbon was observed in control plot (clean cultivation). In the almond-based hortipastoral system, canary grass + red clover recorded maximum green fodder yield (46.90 t/ha) and dry fodder yield (12.56 t/ha) followed by tall fescue + red clover and orchard grass+ red clover combinations. The treatment canary grass + red clover + almond recorded minimum weed density (10.64 m-2) and maximum weed control efficiency (79.85%) compared to control plots (natural vegetation, 90.64 m-2). Therefore, for achieving complementary benefits of high quality fodder, soil fertility enhancement, and suppression of weeds, interculture of perennial grass-legume mixtures is recommended in fruit orchards.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Fruit forage Integrated Systems for Diversification and other Ecosystem Services
The interspaces (alleyways) in fruit orchards are generally not utilized for cultivation of perennial forage crops by a majority of farmers. These alleyways are often occupied by weeds or kept bare or clean with repeated tillage. The weeds may act as alternate/collateral hosts, thereby harboring pests and pathogens that may harm the fruit trees. In addition to this, the frequent tillage may subject the soil to erosion losses. Intercropping of perennial forage grasses and/or legumes with fruit crops is thus beneficial for not only providing high quality forage but also for providing various ecosystem services.Owing to an ever burgeoning population, degraded grasslands,shortage of fodder, and inability of farmers to earmark adequate land for fodder production, it becomes imperative to exploit the interspaces in fruit orchards. Yield and quality of forages can be increased by cultivating forage grasses and legume species in appropriate mixtures. The present study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of several perennial temperate forage grass/legume combinations as an effective approach for weed management, soil fertility enhancement, and increased forage resource availability in apple/almond-based horti-pastoral systems in the northwestern Himalayan region of India during 2015 to 2020. The treatments consisted of various temperate perennial grasses (tall fescue, orchard grass, little seed canary grass, and timothy) and temperate perennial legumes (red and white clover) arranged in a randomised block design with three replications. In apple-based hortipasture, maximum yields were obtained with tall fescue + red clover (12.1 t/ha dry fodder yield) followed by orchard grass + red clover (10.45 t/ha dry fodder yield). Data on the effect of forage crops on soil fertility showed that organic carbon (%) varied significantly in various combinations, with maximum soil organic carbon being observed in red clover + apple (0.92%) followed by white clover + apple (0.89%). However,minimum soil organic carbon was observed in control plot (clean cultivation). In the almond-based hortipastoral system, canary grass + red clover recorded maximum green fodder yield (46.90 t/ha) and dry fodder yield (12.56 t/ha) followed by tall fescue + red clover and orchard grass+ red clover combinations. The treatment canary grass + red clover + almond recorded minimum weed density (10.64 m-2) and maximum weed control efficiency (79.85%) compared to control plots (natural vegetation, 90.64 m-2). Therefore, for achieving complementary benefits of high quality fodder, soil fertility enhancement, and suppression of weeds, interculture of perennial grass-legume mixtures is recommended in fruit orchards.
