ardu ailanthus sp) in arid ecosystem: a compatible...

Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge

Vol.10 (1), January 2011, pp 102-113

Ardu (Ailanthus sp) in arid ecosystem: A compatible species for combating with

drought and securing livelihood security of resource poor people

HS Jat1, Ranjay K Singh

1 & JS Mann

2

1Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal 132 001, Haryana; 2Central Sheep & Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar 304 501, Rajasthan

E-mail: [email protected]

Received 20.12.2010; revised 10.01.2011

In arid regions of Rajasthan, harsh and unfavorable climatic conditions coupled with poor soils, make agricultural

production system a gamble due to high risk and uncertainties. Livestock is an integral part of social, economic and

environmental system in Rajasthan. Rearing of animals is challenging in arid ecosystems and need diversified sources of

fodder and feed. There are certain trees species which are compatible to arid ecosystem and provide feed, fodder, fuel and

timber to local community in order to sustain their livelihoods. An attempt has been made to demonstrate the botanical

description, geographical distribution, other phenotypic characters, indigenous usage, marketing and economic aspects of

ardu (Alianthus sp). Results indicated that under arid ecosystem, to meet the increasing demand for food, fodder, fuel wood

and timber, etc. ardu play a pivotal role in management of land resources and securing livelihoods of economically poor

people through agroforestry system. Ardu used for many purposes including timber, fuel, fodder, ethnomedicine, etc. make

it a multipurpose species. The species found to be very much compatible and adapted to harsh arid ecosystem is one of the

main species which act as an integrated component in farming systems of farmers, and especially during the drought. Ardu

could be one of the important tree species (MPTS) for the drought period and in arid ecosystem to sustain the productivity of

sheep and goats and other animals, and secure livelihoods pastoralists and farmers.

Keywords: Arid ecosystem, Ailanthus sp, Climate change, Livelihood security

IPC Int. Cl.8: A47G 19/26; A23K; C10L; A01D 23/24; A01D 23/25; A01D 7/35; A01D 11/07; A01D 11/18; A01D 14/05;

A01D 7/04; A01D 2/07

It covers 68% of the state’s geographical area and

represents 61% of the area covered by desert in India.

In arid regions, low annual rainfall (100 mm in the

Jaisalmer area in the extreme West to 450 mm at its

eastern boundary which is the Aravalli mountain

range), harsh and unfavourable climatic conditions

(climate change) coupled with poor soils make

agricultural production systems a gamble. The state is

predominantly agrarian and 70% of its population’s

livelihood is based on agricultural activities. The total

livestock population of the state is 5,91,68,106.

Rajasthan possess 11% of the total animal population

of India that yield almost 9.16% of the total milk

production, 30% of the goat meat production, 39% of

the total wool production and 35% of draught power.

Seventy per cent of India’s camel population can be

found in Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, animal husbandry is

not merely a subsidiary to agriculture, but it is a major

economic activity and source of livelihood especially

in arid, semi-arid and harsh ecosystems, thus

providing an insurance against prominently occurring

scarcity conditions. The people of arid region depends

on small ruminants (sheep and goat) to large extent

and on large animals (cow, buffalo, camel) to some

extent for sustaining the livelihood on sustainable

basis especially during extreme weather. Income from

live stock accounts for 30 to 50% of the rural

household’s income, with wide variation in region

and households. The animal population growth rate is

very high in the state and the availability of fodder

that is already in short supply by nearly 50 % is likely

to get more aggravated (Table 1).

In absence of favorable conditions for intensive

agriculture, livestock rearing is an alternative source

of livelihood of majority of the rural population in

arid ecosystems of Rajasthan and other states of India.

The problem is becoming more and more acute with

simultaneous increase in livestock population.

Therefore, to meet the increasing demand for fodder

(green and dry) for livestock and food, fuel wood and ——————

* Corresponding author

JAT et al.: ARDU – A COMPATIBLE SPECIES OF RESOURCE POOR PEOPLE

103

timber, etc. for human population on sustainable

basis without degradation of land resources, the

only alternative is parallel advancement in the

land productivity and agroforestry. In India, the

agroforestry assumes great significance in view of the

fact that about 50% of its area suffers from one or the

other type of land degradation and is not suited for

intensive agricultural system. Under such situation, to

achieve the target of 1/3rd

land area under forest and

grass cover, the only alternative available before

researchers and planners is to encourage farmers to

grow more and more Multi Purpose Tree Species

(MPTs) under farm forestry and other agroforestry

systems to secure livelihoods1. There are number of

MPTs in the Rajasthan like ardu (Ailanthus sp), babul

(Acacia nilotica), khejari (Prosopis cineraria), siris

(Albizia lebbeck), neem (Azadirachta indica), ber

(Zizyphus nummularia), etc. that can be fed to animals

during lean period of the year (April-June and

Nov-January) especially in drought conditions.

After khejari (Prosopis cineraria), ardu (Ailanthus

sp) is the only tree that not only feed to the animals

but also used in manufacturing of plywood, match-

sticks, toy and packing materials, medicine, etc. Ardu

reflects wider adaptability and higher tolerance to

biotic and abiotic stresses hence, a potential species

during drought/ climate change. The selection of

ardu for commercially important agroforestry models

to obtain higher productivity holds significance

in producing fodder, fuel wood, timber, etc. in arid

ecosystems of Rajasthan. Realizing its multiple uses,

its cultivation in various systems extended and came

out to be as profitable venture in case of agroforestry

and silvi-pastoral system2. Ardu plantation on

community land, farm boundary, road avenues and in

agroforestry system helped in maintaining the

ecosystem by slowing down the variations in climatic

parameters due to climate change. Foliage of ardu

is used by small ruminants to meet the green fodder

requirement during lean period and it is also sold

in the market to earn some income to meet the

farmer’s expenditure to sustain their livelihood in

harsh climate.

Methodology

Looking to the importance of ardu, a survey in

arid regions of Rajasthan and research activities

at CSWRI experimental farm was carried out. In

the paper, the major emphasis was laid on the

aspects of ardu including its morphology, origin,

distribution and behavior, its popularity among

farmers, its significance, economic impact, marketing

and economics under arid ecosystems. During the

survey, the data were collected from the primary

sources on phonological and growth behavior of

plants. The economic and livelihood aspects were

observed on farmer’s field. The leaf fodder samples

were analyzed for proximate principles3.

Results and discussion

The tree is a lofty deciduous and diocious, though

it is widely distributed in the country. It grows well in

the arid and semi-arid regions. This tree is known for

its medicinal use and paper and plywood industry.

The ardu is an aggressive, intolerant pioneer species

with rapid juvenile growth of 1 to 1.5m/year. Primary

roots are moderately long, terete, tapering. Stem of

ardu is erect, terete, green and minutely tomentose.

Leaves of ardu are long, alternately and pinnately

compound having leaflets and glandularly hairy.

Leaflets are long, lanceolate and long pointed at the

apex. Leaflets are ovate, acute or acuminate, coarsely

serrate or nearly lobbed. Flowers of ardu are much

branched polygamous or generally bisexual

(dioecious), usually lax, pubscent in terminal or

axillary panicles, small, greenish yellow, bracts

minute, deciduous hairy. Calyx consists of 5 united

sepals and the petals are 5, small, green and longer

than sepals. Petals (corolla) much exceeding the

calyx lobes, which are about 0.5 cm long, oblong

lanceolate, scattered hairy inside, reflexed after

opening, filamentous glabrous and shorter than

anthers. There are 10 stamens in male flowers and

2-3 in hermophrodite flowers and in female

0 stamens. Fruit is small and one seeded samara type,

narrowed at both ends, membranous red twisted

wings with prominent veins, which are nearly parallel

except over the seed, twisted at the base and reddish

brown in colour. It is a good source of fatty oil (56%)

and proteins (28%). Wood is light and soft and ranged

Table 1—Demand and supply of fodder availability in Rajasthan

(in million tonnes)

Year Demand Supply Gap % Gap

1980 61.20 28.50 32.70 53.43

1990 58.80 31.52 27.28 46.39

1995 67.47 44.70 22.77 33.75

2001 72.18 50.08 22.10 30.62

2006 76.51 56.08 20.43 26.70

2016 84.16 61.60 22.56 26.81

(Source: Animal Husbandry Department, Rajasthan), 2010

INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 10, NO 1, JANUARY 2011

104

in colour from white to pale yellowish or straw

brown/ grey with a weight of 28 lbs per cubic

feet. The wood density varies from species to species

and it is approximately about 335-480 kg/m3 and

the specific gravity is 0.45 at 15% moisture basis.

Ailanthus is comprised of 3-4 species, out of which

one species, i.e. A. excelsa is known to be found in

Rajasthan or central India4-6

. Ardu is a lofty deciduous

tree, indigenous to Indian peninsula and grows almost

throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of the

country especially in the dry tracts7. It grows well

in arid, semi-arid and semi-moist regions. Whereas,

other species except A. excelsa, are originated in

different countries of the world (Table 2). It is widely

distributed throughout the country and observed in

abundance in the arid regions of Rajasthan and other

parts of India. The survey results indicated that, ardu

is spread in the arid tracts of the state. It grows

successfully in the region where minimum average

annual rainfall is <500mm. High density of ardu

is occurred in Sikar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk, Dausa

and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan. Whereas, in

Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur, Nagaur, Alwar, Karauli,

Swai-Madhopur, Bundi and Kota it is occurred with

low density8. Highest densities of ardu tree were

found in the Sikar district of Rajasthan. Ardu is

well distributed in the central part of the Rajasthan

and along the Aravali mountain range (Fig.1).

Distribution of ardu depends upon its popularity for

leaf fodder and industry. Among these two species,

better plants of ardu have been selected on the

basis of visual observations and morphology, viz..

arrangement of branching, taper of tree, plant

coverage area, etc. The maximum plants of ardu were

found in the age group of 5-10 yrs followed by 10-15

(Table 3). In South Rajasthan, the ardu tree was found

older than North Rajasthan but the popularity

is more in North Rajasthan than South because of its

fodder and industrial use9.

Two species of Ailanthus is found throughout the

Rajasthan. Earlier many workers reported only single

species (A. excelsa). The new species of Ailanthus

was identified, which is different in morphological

as well as in inflorescence characteristics than A.

excelsa. Ailanthus excelsa and the new species of

ailanthus found all over the Rajasthan side by side.

The new species was identified first time at CSWRI,

Avikanagar (26° 15’ to 26° 25’ N latitude and 75° 25’

to 75° 28’ E longitude with an elevation of 326 m

above mean sea level). The differences between

these two species i.e. A. excelsa and another Ailanthus

species were made clear on the basis of distinguished

characters (floral as well as morphological). The

differences between two species of Ailanthus are

described (Table 4). Large numbers of exotic and

indigenous fodder trees (MPTs) including ardu are

available in the arid regions of Rajasthan. Ardu can be

grown on wide variety of soils, but thrives best on

sandy loams and it is widely distributed in the arid

ecosystem. It is relatively a fast growing tree species;

an average full grown tree yields about 5-7 quintals

of green leaves twice a year10

. It has the ability

to conserve soil in eroded areas and it is resistant

to pollution. Being a leguminous tree, it has the

properties of biological nitrogen fixation. It can be

used in plywood and medicine industry. It requires

special care and management practices during

early stages for 2-3 yrs only and after that it is able

to survive without special attention. It can tolerate

water logging in the initial stage of establishment.

It can be grown in combination with agricultural

crops without affecting the crop production. Ardu

provides nutritious green fodder during the lean

period. Ardu leaves are best among all the fodder

trees from palatability, digestibility and nutritive value

point of view (Table 5). The green leaves of ardu

can serve as a maintenance ration for livestock, but

dry leaves need supplementation by feeds rich in

phosphorous. Ardu is superior to khejari because it

has more wide distribution, more adaptability, water

logging tolerant to some extent, fast growth and

supplies the green leaf twice a year during lean period.

Indigenous utilization of ardu

Timber The wood is white and lustrous, with a faint

yellowish colour. Its wood is straight grained, fairly

even and very coarse textured. The timber is very

light (density being 0.45) and perishable and the air

dry weight is 27 lbs/ cubic ft. Annual growth rings

are indistinct and the weight of wood is 433 kg/m3

(A. excelsa). The timber is very easy to saw and work

both by hand and machines. The timber is likely to

develop fine, long widely spaced surface cracks. It is

also liable to blue stain.

Paper and plywood The timber of ardu is valued as Grade III and

Grade IV category by the forest department and

it is considered good for manufacturing plywood.


105

The pulp is obtained from debarked wood and used

in paper industry as a substitute for aspen and for

printing papers. It improves the surface quality of

paper. The wood is in great demand in Rajasthan for

plywood industry and leaf marketing (Fig. 2).

Fuel wood

Every lopping provides ample quantity of twigs,

which are not utilized for feeding but could be used as

firewood by many poor people. A lopped branch

(less than 7.5 cm thick) has been observed optimum

for production of forage, but it differs from tree to tree

and the season of lopping. Though, the stem and

branches of ardu are used for fuel wood but it gives

poor quality fuel as it burns quickly and does not

sustain heat for long time.

Fodder Sheep and goats are essentially dependent on

pasture and in this respect they differ from dairy

cattle, which receive a substantial quality of feed

in the form of grains and other concentrates. These

two species of animals can be reared well with

ardu leaves (Figs. 3 & 4). In fact, the pasture is the

cheapest source of feeding, though the pasture may

not provide a perfect diet for sheep and goats

especially during extreme temperature. As general

principle, pasture should be maintained with

perennial plants. Pastures of perennial fodder plants

have several advantages over those of annual

species. Ardu produce feed more quickly in

abundance and provide feed to the livestock even

during the drought also (Fig. 5). Drought occurs

frequently in arid regions and the farmers may

experience heavy losses. The question of what to

feed will obviously depend on what food stuffs the

grazier has on hand or is able to purchase (majority

of pastrolists are economically poor). Large variety

of plant materials, viz. tree leaves, shrubs, weeds and

grasses, normally not fed to livestock, are used

during scarcity. Ardu leaves are rated as highly

palatable and protein rich nutritious fodder for sheep

and goats and are said to augment milk production.

Nutritive value of leaves may vary with age and

stage of the plant, season, lopping or pollarding.

Table 2—Origin and distribution of Ailanthus spp in the World

Ailanthus spp Trade name Native Introduced Distribution

Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. Maharukh Central India - North-western and Central

India

Ailanthus altissima (=A. glandulosa) China sumac / Tree of heaven China China Northern India

Ailanthus grandis Gokul - - NEH regions

Ailanthus triphysa (=A malabarica) White palle China China & Japan South India

Table 3- Age group-wise mean values of different growth parameters of ardu in a initial survey

report of 18 districts of Rajasthan Growth Parameters

Age group

(years)

Height

(m)

CD

(m)

DBH

(m)

CBL

(m)

PCA

(m)

Branches

(no.)

1-5 (47) 6.63 ± 0.39 0.81 ± 0.039 0.67 ± 0.051 2.15 ± 0.18 4.21 ± 0.31 4.59 ± 0.25

5-10 (128) 8.41 ± 0.22 1.17 ± 0.040 0.98 ± 0.037 2.41 ± 0.09 6.04 ± 0.16 5.73 ± 0.18

10-15 (98) 10.39 ± 0.27 1.39 ± 0.044 1.18 ± 0.042 2.73 ± 0.12 7.18 ± 0.21 6.43 ± 0.22

15-20 (41) 12.31 ± 0.60 1.56 ± 0.112 1.35 ± 0.104 2.65 ± 0.15 7.59 ± 0.39 6.58 ± 0.35

>20 (10) 13.55 ± 1.78 2.02 ± 0.457 1.65 ± 0.353 3.32 ± 0.49 10.13 ± 1.97 7.90 ± 1.30

*Figures in parenthesis are number of sample tree

Table 4- Differences among the Ailanthus excelsa and Ailanthus spp (a new identified species)

Characters Ailanthus excelsa Ailanthus spp

Pollination Homogamy Cleiostogamy

Stamens Male- 10; Female- 0 Hermophrodite- 2-3 Hermophrodite flowers

Cohesion of carples Pistils with free stigmas Pistils with free styles

Carples One carple 5 free carples

Pollens Pollen polymorphic (tri-morphic) Monomorphic

Pollen grain Pollen grain psilate Finely tuberculate

Pod/Flower Single pod maturing per flower 3-5 pods from single flower

Hairs Branched and multicelled Unbranched

Maturity Simultaneous maturing Protoandry


106

Daily meal as 50% ardu leaf and 50% wheat straw

could form maintenance ration for sheep. Mutton

yield of mutton synthetic ewes kept on silvi-pastoral

system was higher (365.0-467.22 ml/day) than in the

pasture with Cenchrus alone (310.55 ml/day) and

natural pastures (285.55 ml/day) due to green ardu

leaves supplementation (Fig. 6). Ardu leaf provides

the highly nutritious and palatable fodder to small

ruminants in the arid and semi-arid regions of India.

The comparative nutritive values of ardu indicate a

considerable degree of their importance (Table 6).

An annual average tree yields up to 1, 2 and 4 q of

green leaves at 5, 10 and >20 yrs of age. It is

therefore, largely planted on farm lands. Some trees

are lopped for green leaves while leaves from others

can be lopped, dried and stored for feeding during

lean/ scarcity period especially during drought.

The green leaves are highly palatable and digestible,

animals relish them better than the dry leaves

even when the latter are treated with molasses to

improve their palatability. The animals have to get

used to acrid smell of these leaves. The digestible

crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients

(TDN) of different tree leaves are given (Table 7).

Highest DCP was observed with A. catechu and

it was followed by A. excelsa, whereas, in case

of TDN, ardu reflects highest in comparison to other

MPTs.

Animal nutrition

The performance of male weaner broiler lambs was observed on feeding of complete diets based on 50% dried pala leaves (Group T1) and on ardu

leaves (Group T2) from 91st to 180

th day of age.

The growth rate of lambs in two groups was almost similar. The intake and digestibility data showed that the lambs in group T1 maintained on pala based diet consumed more DM vis-à-vis group T2 on ardu leaves, however, digestibility

of DM, CP, CF and NFE were higher in group T2 (Table 8). One of the main problems associated with natural rangeland and grass pasture in arid region is inadequacy of forage during late winter and summer because of their short annual life cycle. Animal grazed on such pasture experienced

nutritional stress which is reflected in deteriorations of production performance and seasonal body weight changes

12. Thus, incorporation of trees like ardu

and shrubs ensures the availability of good quality forage round the year. Keeping in view a study was undertaken at CSWRI, Avikanagar on lambs

and kids to assess their plane of nutrition, pasture utilization and growth performance on 2-tier and 3-tier silvi pasture. Six each of weaner Malpura lambs and Marwari kids were allowed to graze in 1-hectare 3-tier (Ailanthus excelsa + Dichrostachys

nutans + Cenchrus setigerus) and 2-tier (Ailanthus

excelsa + Cenchrus setigerus) silvipasture from 3-6 months of age. Higher digestibility coefficients found in 2-tier system with respect to kids whereas in lambs it was 3-tier silvi pasture system

13.

Lambs and kids grazed with their mother up to 3 month of age on Cenchrus pasture; higher ADG

of kids than lambs was due to their wider choice of vegetation including top feeds

14. The ardu

leaves was feed to sheep and goat to determine the digestibility and nutritive values and it was found that goats are more efficient in intake of ardu leaves (Table 9).

Table 6—Comparative nutritive values of some of the fodder tree leaves of arid regions

Fodder tree species CP CF EE NFE Ash Ca P

Ailanthus excelsa 19.87 12.72 3.53 51.81 11.97 2.11 0.24

Acacia Senegal 10.30 9.70 - 65.70 16.40 6.90 0.05

Albizia lebbeck 16.80 31.50 4.00 36.20 11.50 2.57 0.15

Azadirachta indica 14.50 23.08 2.31 51.59 8.52 2.39 0.14

Bauhinia racemosa 15.36 18.50 3.33 54.60 8.21 4.13 0.14

Prosopis cineraria 13.98 17.80 1.88 43.44 22.90 2.73 0.15

Zizyphus nummularia 14.25 15.73 4.34 57.12 8.56 2.43 0.14

Laucaena leucocephala 21.45 14.25 6.54 49.48 8.28 2.70 0.17

Abbreviation: CP= Crude protein; CF=Crude fibre; EE= Ether extract; NFE=Nitrogen free extract

Table 5—Chemical composition of ardu leaves and wood

Green Leaves *Wood

Composition Percent (%) Composition Percent (%)

Moisture 67.39 Cellulose 51.6

Crude protein 19.87 Pentosan 14.3

Crude fibre 12.72 Lignin 30.1

Ether extract 3.53 Ash 2.1

N-free extract 51.81

Total ash 11.97

Ca 2.11

P 0.24


107

Matchwood and packing industries The wood of the plant is in great demand for

making matchwood boxes and match splints in match

industries. The wood is extensively used in cottage

industries for making wooden toys and cheap quality

cricket bats. In Rajasthan the main trunk of ardu is

mainly used for plywood making whereas, the

branches are used for making packing cases/boxes.

Thus, it can become a viable source of income for

poor family.

Medicine The bark and the gum that exudes from the trunk of

ardu are used medicinally16

. The dried bark and

fragrant gum are burnt as incense. The bark is

aromatic and used for dyspeptic complaints and is

also regarded as tonic and febrifuge in cases of

debility. A powder made from the resin mixed with

milk is given in small doses in case of dysentery and

bronchitis. The ardu yields gum of inferior quality

and the bark is bitter, astringent, anthelmintic and it is

used in diseases like dysentery, bronchitis, asthma,

dyspepsia and earache. Ardu leaves are especially

used in dysentery for small ruminants after crushing

and mix it with same quantity of water. The leaves are

used for the preparation of lotion for scabies and the

root bark is used for epilepsy and asthma.

Soil conservation The tree has been extensively used for soil

conservation purposes in Rajasthan to check the

spread of sand dunes and along the road sides to

prevent and slow down the dusty winds. Leave of

ardu trees being a rich in essential plant nutrients

serve as a green manure and improve the land

fertility. In some regions, trees are being used for

rehabilitating the degraded sites for restoration of

their fertility, moisture and thus capability to produce

plants (Fig.7).

Environmental conservation The ardu tree is described as the most adaptable

and pollution tolerant tree available, that can adapt

against the slight climatic change17

. The ardu tree has

been extensively used for soil conservation purposes

because of its resistant to drought and soil conditions.

The tree is suitable for sloppy, degraded and denuded

areas and wastelands. On an average, the root of

individual tree binds over an area of 3.10 m2. It grows

well in arid, semi-arid regions as well as both in

plains and hills as a shade and avenue tree along the

road side. The tree has been used successfully in

agroforestry for planting in and around the margins of

cultivated fields.

Regeneration and plantation of ardu

The seeds are the major source of natural

regeneration of ardu. The fruit bunches are lopped as

soon as they show signs of ripening, as the winged

seeds may be blown away by dry winds of May-June.

The seed loses viability fast but under proper storage

conditions they can remain viable for up to one year

otherwise the normal viability is 4-5 months. The seed

can be stored in dry, sealed and cold containers for

2 yrs without losing viability. Under changing climatic

conditions, seed is the best method of propagation.

Natural regeneration through coppice Natural regeneration of ardu by coppice is a good

method in which the general growth of the coppice

shoots is much faster as compared to seedling growth.

Therefore, it is much easier to regenerate by

Table 7- Nutritive value (% dry matter) of tree leaves of

some arid fodder tree species

Tree species DCP TDN

Ailanthus excelsa 16.24 63.80

Acacia catechu 24.00 46.33

Prosopis cineraria 4.49 40.99

Azadirachta indica 8.38 53.28

Zizyphus nummularia 3.48 39.49

Zizyphus mauritiana - 30.65

Abbreviation: DCP= Digestible crude protein; TDN=Total

digestible nutrients

Table 8—Feedlot performance, digestibility of nutrients, net

nitrogen retention and nutritive evaluation of pala and

ardu based ration11

Contents Group T1 Group T2

% Feed efficiency 13.43 15.37

Dry Matter (DM) 57.61 63.40

Crude Protein (CP) 54.00 70.25

% DCP 8.60 11.89

% TDN 47.50 56.59

Table 9—Digestibility and nutritive value of ardu leaves15.

Particular Sheep Goats

Digestibility of nutrients (%)

Dry matter (DM) 69.23 70.84

Organic matter (OM) 70.25 72.13

Crude Protein (CP) 84.72 85.49

Crude Fiber (CF) 50.00 52.50

Nutritive value (%)

Digestible crude Protein (DCP) 13.32 13.44

Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) 63.36 64.87


108

coppicing. Out of a number of shoots only one,

nearest to the ground is retained for establishment.

Coppice shoots are thinned for better growth and

development. Within one year, the plant establishes

itself. The practice of coppicing can be practical for

3-4-generations, however coppicing vigour depend

upon the age and health of the plant cut, season, time

of cutting, height of stump, intensity of light reaching

the floor and climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. This

method is best suited when there is a drought for 2-3

yrs.

Stump planting

The cuttings raised in poly bags can be used as

planting stock after they sprout and root. A. excelsa

can also be planted by root shoot cutting 2-3 cm in

diameters, which are prepared from nearly one year

old seedlings. Stump planting economies on the

nursery cost, transportation of planting material and

planting. Another advantage of stump planting in

afforestation of steep slopes is obvious, because

it does not disturb any soil. Stump planting gives

less than 50% success, however, pit planting is better

than any other method.

Micropropagation

Tissue culture is the propagation of plants through

the placement of small amounts of undifferentiated

tissue or single cells in an artificial environment.

The tissue is placed in a nutrient medium that favors

the production of roots and shoots, and is later

planted normally. By using tissue culture, the

favorable qualities of plants can be precisely

controlled, so that each plant is identical for the

particular quality being sought, whether it may be

disease resistance or plant chemical production.

This technique does not perform better under

variable climatic conditions.

Plantation of ardu

Govt plantations

The leaves are used for fodder purposes where as

the wood is used in cottage industries for making

toys, cricket bat and in match box industry. Since, it is

a light or low energy fuel wood, its use in cottage

industries is being encouraged.

Farmland plantations

The plantations are mainly undertaken by villagers

on field bunds and in homestead plantations for

additional fodder, firewood and cheap timber (Fig. 8).

Around the cities ardu is grown for selling of leaves

to the market to earn some extra money.

Agroforestry plantations Ardu is the fast growing fodder tree and could

be propagated in association with forage and food

crops without jeopardizing their production (Fig. 9).

In agroforestry system, 100 plants of ardu is

recommended in one hectare area for getting

higher fodder production without impairing the soil

fertility and crop production. In this system, the

soil is also enriched in nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon,

sulphur, etc. over a period of few years in spite

of the fact that biomass is annually harvested

as forages.

Industrial plantations

It is highly desirable for matchwood industries and

is worked under the selection system with a minimum

exploitable girth limit. It is a timber of box plank

class, being light and fairly strong. The timber of ardu

used as Grade III and Grade IV plywood. The timber

is used for packing cases in Assam and West Bengal,

fishing floats and sword sheaths. The pulp is used in

paper industry as a substitute for aspen, for printing

papers. Thus, plantations of ardu with economically

poor people and networking with industrial units can

play considerable role in enhancing livelihood in

climate change scenario.

Effects of ardu on crop production In agroforestry system, the tree plants compete

with the crop plants for natural resources like

sunlight, space, nutrients, moisture, etc. The

competition between ardu tree and crops has been

observed negligible or at very low level in

agroforestry system because of the variation in root

and shoot parameters. It was observed that ardu has

no adverse effects on the crops sown as under storey

if proper care is taken. For having better results, the

spacing should be at least 10 m × 10 m. Regular

lopping of the leaves should be done to minimize

shade effect on the crops (and provide as fodder) and

ploughing of the root zone of crops should be done

to remove the lateral roots of the tree so that there

will be no competition between tree and crop.

Mostly wheat, millet, barley, mustard, pulses and

guar crops are being taken with ardu. It was found

that 25 quintal/ha of wheat and 12.5 quintal/ha

of barley can be produced when sown in the


109

intermittent space of 10m X 10m ardu plantation.

Trees are planted at the North and West boundaries

of the fields. It is essential to have trees on the

North and West borders of the farm in order to

reduce wind velocity which otherwise cause higher

moisture losses from crop field due to advection.

Farm forestry of ardu is more popular and is being

practiced by the farmers. To maximize biomass

production single, two-tier and multi-tier systems

of fodder production were compared with natural

pasture under arid conditions (Fig. 10). Multi-tier

system provided maximum dry fodder and seed/

grains with the highest net returns followed by

two-tier and single tier system.

Different forage crops, viz. Cenchrus ciliaris,

Cenchrus setigerus and Panicum antidotale were

grown in association with Ailanthus excelsa. The

C. setigerus produced higher forage yield over

other grasses. However in the year of establishment,

C. ciliaris gave slightly higher yield over C. setigerus.

Both the Cenchrus species produced higher yield

than P. antidotale in all the years in association

with Ailanthus excelsa. All the species of grasses

produced maximum biomass in the third year. The

yield of grasses drastically reduced in the sixth year

(Table 11). The tree association did not affect

the yields of grasses, contrarily the complimentary

effect was noticed. A study was carried out under

agroforestry system to find out the effect of ardu on

yields and it was observed that different silvi-pasture

system have produced total dry fodder yield, leaf

yield and fuel wood was not influenced significantly

by ardu association19

. The total dry fodder yield was

significantly at par with all the agroforestry systems.

Higher dry leaf was recorded with Ailanthus excelsa +

Morus alba + grasses (Cenchrus and other grasses),

whereas, higher fuel wood was recorded with

Ailanthus excelsa + Dichrostachys nutans + grasses

association (Cenchrus and other grasses) (Table 12).

Study indicates that growth attributes, dry leaf

production, fuel wood and net income was not

affected by tree association. Highest net income,

fuel wood and dry leaf production was observed in

Ailanthus excelsa +Cenchrus setigerus silvi-pastoral

system (Table 13).

Marketing

Marketing behaviour of selling ardu leaves was

done through a survey conducted in Jaipur, Sikar,

Ajmer and Dausa mandis of Rajasthan. The selling of

the fodder (ardu leaves) is being done either directly

or through agents. If an agent sells fodder of 100,

he gets a commission of 20. The ardu leaves

are sold in terms of Mutthi (Handful of leaves) or

Puli or Bhara/ bundle (Fig.11). One Mutthi is equal

to one handful of leaf, one puli is of approximately

5 kg and one Bhara/ bundle is of approximately

40 kg. Agents purchase the leaf throughout the year

at the rate of 4 per Puli and sold it at the rate of

5 per Puli. The prevailing market rates are one

rupee per kg of leaf. The selling rate of leaf varies

from season to season and place to place. Selling rate

for one mutthi is 1-2, and for puli 4-6 while for

one Bhara/ bundle costs about 100-200. It was

found that one camel cartload having a capacity of

10 quintals (200 puli) of leaf fodder is being sold

at 1000 at site. The total labour cost for lopping and

loading works out to be 20/quintal. Transportation

cost paid to camel cart is Rs.10/km. For example

if the market is 20 km away than the cost for

transportation of camel cart will be 200. In the

months of April- May (peak temperature period),

there seems to be scarcity of green fodder/ leaves

in the market because of harvesting of rabi crops.

So the rates become higher and reached up to 4/kg,

whereas in the month of August, September and

October the leaves are sold at the rate of 2.5-4.0/kg.

After felling the wood is taken to the market on

camel carts by the villagers and sold to the saw mills

at the rate of 100/quintal. After sawing the logs, the

wood having some small timber value and is being

sold at the rate of 13/sq feet. The firewood is being

sold at the rate of 60/quintal. A 10 yrs old tree gives

about 2000 on selling of whole plant so if a farmer

grow tree on boundary at 10 by 10 m distance then

he is able to get 80000/ha without ant expenses

after every 10 yrs. The coppice from the cut-shoots

grows rapidly and is ready to cut after 6 yrs and gave

same amount of money.

Economics

The rotation of ardu is considered as 30 yrs, but it was found to go up to 50 yrs or more. The lopping is

commenced from the fourth year onwards; i.e. leaf fodder from one tree is available for at least 30 yrs. It is estimated that an average tree gives about 1, 2 and >4 quintal green leaf fodder per year when it attains the age of 5, 10 and >20 yrs. If the ardu green leaves in plenty, then farmers stores dry leaves to supply the

dry fodder as ardu leaves during dry period or scanty year to meet out the nutritional requirement of the ruminants/animals (Fig. 12).


110

Conclusion and policy implications Rajasthan facing trikal situations means there is a

drought after every three years. To cope up with such

type of situation agroforestry is one of the alternatives

for the livelihood security of the local farmers for

whom livestock is an integral component of their

social, economic and environmental system.

Livestock is an important source of income and

employment generation for millions of landless and

small landholders particularly in the resource poor

communities. In Rajasthan, the majority of the

agricultural farmers and livestock farmers have been

predominantly following traditional methods of

livelihood and most of them are economically

vulnerable. The status of farm holding cannot support

a normal productivity compared to Indian average

due to very poor soil condition, scanty rainfall with

high oscillations and sometimes scattered location in

Table 10—Dry matter and seed/grain production in different agroforestry systems (compiled by author)

Agroforestry system Dry fodder production

(q/ha)

Seed of grass /Grains

(q/ ha)

Dry leaves of ardu

(q/ha)

Fuel wood

(q/ha)

Multi-tier system:

(Ailanthus excelsa +Dichrostachys nutans +

Cenchrus setigerus / Vigna radiata)

24.65 3.47

(3.57)*

33.00

(5.20)**

45.00

(2.50)**

Two-tier system: Ailanthus excelsa +

Cenchrus setigerus / Vigna radiata) 26.46

2.98

(3.33)* 30.00 42.00

Single-tier system: Cenchrus setigerus /

Vigna radiata) 26.65

3.68

(3.83)* - -

Natural pasture 16.58 - - -

*Figures in parenthesis indicate the grain yield (q/ha) of crop

** Figures in parenthesis indicate dry leaves of Dichrostachys nutans bush (q/ha)

Table 11—Dry fodder yield of different grasses under ardu based agroforestry system18

Treatments Dry fodder yield of grasses (q/ha)

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

A. excelsa + P. antidotale 16.1 25.3 33.7 21.1 16.1 04.5

A. excelsa + C. ciliaris 15.9 33.3 52.5 27.7 23.4 13.8

A. excelsa + C. setigerus 16.9 34.8 53.4 28.3 24.5 13.9

Table 12—Dry fodder production of cenchrus and other grasses along with dry leaf production

from trees and bushes in agroforestry systems19

Dry Fodder (q/ha) Trees and Bushes (q/ha) Agroforestry systems

Cenchrus Other grasses Total yield Dry leaf Fuel wood

Open system 17.00 10.80 27.80 - -

Two-tier: Ailanthus excelsa + forest pasture 15.60 11.33 26.93 24.13 28.32

Three-tier: Ailanthus excelsa +

Morus alba + grasses 15.50 11.20 26.25

20.68

(4.63)

17.77

(4.34)

Three-tier: Ailanthus excelsa +

Dichrostachys nutans + grasses 13.95 11.65 25.60

16.44

(2.54)

22.65

(2.27)

CD at 5% 2.15 NS 3.4 - -

Figures in parenthesis indicate the yield (q/ha) of bushes (Morus alba and Dichrostachys nutans)

Table 13—production Grasses and dry leaf of trees in different agroforestry systems

Treatment

No. of

plants/M2

Grass spreading

area (%)

Plant height

(cm)

Dry fodder

production (q/ha)

Dry leaf production

(kg/tree)

Dry fuel wood

(kg/tree)

Sole

Cenchrus setigerus 6.25 39.20 91.96 21.06 - -

Ailanthus excelsa +

Cenchrus setigerus 5.27 38.20 94.34 19.26 23.50 26.40

Azadirachta indica+


Albizia lebbeck +


Acacia nilotica +


CD at 5% 0.76 5.79 12.24 1.86 - -


111


112

isolated pockets. Agroforestry with ardu species has

an important part to play in the amelioration of the

conditions in arid and arid ecosystems. If properly

planned, ardu based agroforestry can make an

important contribution to the general welfare of the

people living in desert areas, and also to mitigate with

climate change scenario. The living standard of the

people in the desert is low due to effect of harsh

ecosystem. They can not afford other fuels like gas,

kerosene etc. Fire wood is their main fuel and it can

be supplemented by ardu sticks. Ardu planted on

community lands, farm boundaries and in agroforestry

system provides green leaf fodder for ruminants

during the year when no single blade of green grass

is available in the grazing land. Being a widely

adaptable plant, ardu helps in restoration of the

ecosystem, livelihood security of resource poor

farmers of dry regions, thus enhance in combating

ability with extreme weather. Local and indigenous

people are more knowledgeable and major role player

in natural resources management, but they need to be

engaged in research policy and planning20-22

.

Government may emphasize on ardu plantation on range lands, community lands, road avenues on sharing basis with the farmers of adjoining areas as like efforts made in different parts of the World with other plant species

21,22. Women, who constitute a

significant part of the agricultural human resources in Rajasthan and are among the most affected groups from climate change may be imparted self-managed income-generating participatory training programme to improve their skills in community land plantation so that they can earn money by selling ardu leaves,

fuel wood and its trunk even in the extreme weather since ardu can sustain in harsh system. Such policies are need of days

23. If ardu based system is continued

by local community then they may be paid incentives and reward for their contribution in sustaining species of ardu and related socio-ecological dynamics

22-26.

Acknowledgement Authors are thankful to the Indian Council of

Agricultural Research, New Delhi for providing

the financial support. Thanks are due to the Director

of CSWRI for providing necessary facilities for

successful conducting the investigation. Thanks are

also due to the farmers, who grow this tree for

upliftment of economic status and sustaining their

livelihood during droughts. The help received from

Dr CB Gena (Vice-chancellor), Bikaner University,

Bikaner is sincerely acknowledged.

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