SILVIPASTURE

Pashu Sandesh, 10 August 2023

Sarita Mahicha¹, Monika Karnani², Sheela Choudhary³ and Manju⁴

Department of Animal Nutrition

Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research (PGIVER), Jaipur

¹PhD Scholar, Department of Animal Nutrition, PGIVER, Jaipur

²Assistant professor, Department of Animal Nutrition, PGIVER, Jaipur

³ Professor & Head, Department of Animal Nutrition, PGIVER, Jaipur

⁴Assistant professor, Department of Animal Nutrition, PGIVER, Jaipur

Introduction- The term ‘Silvi’ means ‘tree’ while ‘pasture’ refers to ‘grasses’ or ‘grass + legume’ crops. silvipastoral systems are defined as growing of ideal combination of grasses/ crops, legumes and fodder trees for producing highly nutritious fodder and forage, fuel wood, and timber while optimising land productivity, therefore conserving soil and nutrients in a sustainable manner from the same piece of land and also maintain environmental potentialities.

To increase livestock productivity, it is advised to create silvipastoral systems and models by introducing crops under trees, trees, shrubs, and annual grasses on degraded and natural pasture areas. This will provide nutrient-rich green forage all year round (Nair 1984, Cameron et al., 1991, Tewari et al., 2007, Panda 2013).

Silvipasture combines synergistically, producing a beneficial and larger overall benefit than the sum of their separate effects. The silvipastoral system proved more effective in reducing soil pH, displacing Na⁺ from the exchange complex, and increasing organic carbon and available N, P and K. Improvement in soil physical properties such as bulk density, porosity, soil moisture and infiltration rate was higher in the silvipastoral system than in the agriculture system.

The microbial biomass carbon in the soils of silvipastoral systems was significantly higher than in soils under sole plantation of trees and control systems. Silvi-pastoral systems which have been well recognised as low input and cost-effective can be grouped into two categories 'browse grazing and forest planting grazing.

Classification of the silvipastoral system-

There are mainly four types of silvipastoral systems i.e. Scattered trees and shrubs on pasture, Intensive silvi-pastoral (fodder trees with agri. fodder crops), live fence of fodder trees or boundary systems and hedge and protein bank (cut and carry) (Nair 1984, Nair 1993, Panda 2013, Soni et al., 2016, Mathukia et al., 2016).

1. Scattered trees and shrubs on pasture- To augment forage production different tree and shrub species are placed in this system in an irregular manner or in accordance with a systemic plan.

Examples: Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea ,Tamarindus indica and Azadirachta indica.                            

A. Browsing:

Foliage (especially tender twigs, stems and leaves) and sometimes fruits and pods of standing trees and shrubs are consumed by goats for browsing.

B. Grazing:

The plants, which are primarily herbaceous, are grazed by animals. The grazing systems in which trees are present and play an interactive role with animal production by providing shade to animals, made available fodder or other products can be considered as silvipastoral systems. This system saves labour cost, time and effort, whereas it damages the existing plants and causes wastage of fodder due to trampling. The key to direct grazing is a subpision of the fodder plot into paddocks and adopting a deferred grazing system. Generally, grazing periods are 1-2 weeks, followed by recuperation periods of 3-6 weeks. These practices minimize the losses and provide better conditions for silvipastoral systems.

2. Intensive silvi-pastoral- A system of Intensive silvipastoral combines fodder trees with agricultural crops. The growth rate of fodder trees varied from species to species. Harvesting of plants is also an important factor. So, the first harvest should be delayed until the fodder tree/shrub is ready to sprout and withstand pruning practices. Generally, the first pruning may be carried out at the 12-16 months age. Under adverse conditions, the growth rate may be slow and the first cutting/pruning may be delayed up to one or two months depending upon the situation. The goal is to allow fodder tree species to establish deep roots and developed thick trunks.
3. Live fence of fodder trees or boundary systems and hedges- In this system, various fodder trees and hedges are planted as a live fence to protect the property from stray animals or other biotic influences. The trees used for fodder are allowed to grow until they have enough wood to be used as fence posts around grazing units or in other plots. Afterwards, they are periodically chopped down for fodder as well as for poles and posts, as in the cut-and-carry system. e.g. Zyziphus and Glyricidia species maintained as bio fence as well as fodder.
4. Protein bank (cut and carry)- In this Silvipastural system, a variety of multipurpose trees (protein-rich trees) are planted on and near farmlands and range areas for cut and carry fodder production to meet the feed requirement of livestock during the fodder deficit period in winter The foliage is lopped periodically and fed to animals that are kept in stalls. Examples: Acacia nilotica, Albizia lebbeck, Azadirachta indica, Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, Sesbania grandiflora.

It reduces fodder wastage however, the labour cost may be increased. Important management factors to be considered under the cut-and-carry system are cutting height, cutting frequency, and management in the lean period. (Raj et al., 2016).

Cutting Height - Numerous studies have been conducted in various regions of the country, and the findings of these investigations have shown that, depending on the type of tree or shrub, a cutting height of 50 to 150 cm is ideal.

Cutting Frequency - It is often advised to cut shrubs and trees for fodder every six to eighteen weeks. Longer cutting intervals (12–18 weeks) typically result in higher biomass but a higher percentage of tender wood.

2. Component-Based Classification:-

A. Silvopasture System (Forestry + Pasture + Livestock):

Tree species like Prosopis cineraria and Zizyphus numularia naturally grow along with grasses like Cenchrus ciliaris, and Lasiurus sindicus and make a silvipastural system. Animals like cows, goats and sheep are part of this farming system. This is a very good example of sustainable management of common property resources that still exist in several places. The silvipasture systems are strictly used according to the land’s carrying capacity. It is mostly followed in areas that receive rainfall below 200 mm ^-1 yr.

B. Agrisilvipasture System (Agriculture + Forestry + Pasture + Livestock):

This is the most popular system in areas receiving rainfall between 200-400 mm^-1 yr. In this system, farmers grow dual-purpose crops like pearl millet, sorghum, moth bean and cluster bean along with trees like Prosopis cineraria, Zizyphus numularia and Tecomela undulata, etc., for food and fodder purposes.

Instead of competing with the crops, these trees enhance the microclimate, which makes them beneficial. These trees supply the farmer with food during a drought since they produce fruit, fuel, fodder, and other things even when the crop fails.

C. Horti-Pasture System (Orchards + Pasture + Livestock):

The hortipasture system is a land use system where fruit and fodder production take place simultaneously. In this system, the arid fruit trees like jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera ), Kejri tree (Prosopis cineraria) and Goonda (Cordia myxa) are raised and inter-cropped with arid grasses Cenchrus ciliaris and Lasiurus sindicus. It is suitable for areas receiving rainfall of more than 250 mm.

It has been discovered that this agri-horticulture system produces more effectively and early throughout the year and is resilient to variable rainfall. Besides fruits and wood from pruning (for fuel or fencing), leaves as fodder are the additional products from the tree. Overall, the productivity of the system is good compared to the sole crop.

CONCLUSION - India is sustainably nourishing the 18 per cent livestock population of the world with limited grazing sources. The gap between the demand and supply of dry forage is regularly increasing, whereas for green forage gap is decreasing at a slow rate. Nowadays continuous grazing is hazardous to the sustainable fodder production systems. Hence, nutritious fodder production through silvipastoral system is one of the options for sustainable fodder production. The cut-and-carry module may help in minimizing problems that arises in Rabi season due to open grazing. Introduction of grass/ forage crop components on natural pasture or degraded lands to provide nutritious green fodder around the year for livestock. This system also provides an opportunity to generate employment for the rural people by involving in activities of animal husbandry i.e. collection, processing, and marketing of value-added products get from trees and grasses. Appropriate management practice in silvipastoral systems will increase the production of forage to full fill demand for fodder.

The study concludes that the fodder tree-based silvipasture system provides round the year good biomass from degraded land of the semiarid regions. In addition to producing fodder from the grasses and legumes in a silvipasture system, fodder trees contribute to the enhancement of ecology and environmental benefits. Growing grasses and legumes with different fodder trees in degraded land improves soil fertility due to enhanced microbial activities leading to decomposition of leaf litter and nutrient cycling. The establishment of such a system will certainly improve soil health thus and after a few years wasteland can be converted into the best land.

References-

Cameron, D. M., Gutteridge, R. C. and Rance, S. J. (1991). Sustaining multiple production systems 1. Forest and fodder trees in multiple-use systems in the. Tropical Grasslands, 25:165-173.

Mathukia, R. K., Sagarka, B. K. and Panara, D. M. (2016). Fodder production through agroforestry: a boon for profitable dairy farming. Innov J Agric Sci, 4(2):13-19.

Nair, P. (1993). An introduction to agroforestry Kluwer Academic Publishers in cooperation with International Centre for Research in Agroforestry.

Nair, P. K. R. (1984). Tropical agroforestry systems and practices. Tropical resource ecology and development. John Wiley, Chichester. England, 1-23.

Panda, S. C. and Panda, S. C. (2004). Cropping and farming systems. Agrobios (India).

Raj, A. K., Kunhamu, T. K., Jamaludheen, V. and Kiroshima, S. (2016). Forage yield and nutritive value of intensive silvopasture systems undercut and carry scheme in humid tropics of Kerala, India. Indian Journal of Agroforestry, 18(1):47-52.

Soni, M. L., Subbulakshmi, V., Yadava, N. D., Tewari, J. C. and Dagar, J. C. (2016). silvipastoral agroforestry systems: a lifeline for dry regions. Agroforestry research developments. Nova Publishers, New York, 245-305.

Tewari, J. C., Sharma, A. K., Narain, P. and Singh, R. (2007). Restorative forestry and agroforestry in the hot arid region of India: a review. J Trop for, 23:1-16.