Growth and yield performance of fodder trees and grasses under silvipastoral systems in dryland farming

Agricultural production has improved from the level of sufficiency to sustainability in the six decades after green revolution. From crop production various diversifications have been undergone in the agricultural sector where livestock forms an irrevocable segment of human livelihood. Thus agricultural production now has to face the growing human and livestock population for their food needs. The adversities of climate change are also travelling parallel with the demand for food supply. This proves the need for more sustainable production that would not harm the environment further. Forest tress are the investments on climate change mitigation through afforestation and Carbon sequestration. There is a dual role for fodder trees both as an investment on climate change mitigation action and remuneration for farmers. However, the impact of climate change would further aggravate the existing productivity contrasting in the Dry land agriculture areas like Sivagangai district. The experiment of interaction between different tree fodder and fodder crops was able to reveal that Albizia lebbek was growing in faster pace than Pterocarpus marsupium and Thespesia populnea, while the green and dry fodder yield was higher in Fodder Sorghum (CO FS- 29) compared to Cenchrus, Stylosanthus and Desmanthus species. Thus the Silvipastural system of Albizia lebbek intercropped with Fodder Sorghum would be highly remunerable to the farming community when incorporated into the dry tracts of Sivagangai district.