1. WCA 2014 1
PROMOTION OF TEAK UNDER
AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM FOR
ENHANCING RURAL LIVELIHOOD
By
Dr. Pramod K. Shukla

2. WCA 2014 2
TEAK: A VALUABLE AND
PREFERRED SPECIES FOR PLANTING
• One of the most valuable and highly sought after timber for its
durability, decorative grains, lightness with strength, seasoning
capacity without materially altering its shape, easy workability.
• Easy to raise
–Profuse seeding
–Proven nursery and planting techniques
• Hardy species
–Can withstand biotic pressures
–Can survive under even rain fed conditions and poor soils, however then,
its growth will be slower.
• Comparatively low planting & maintenance costs.
• Fairly fast growing under favorable conditions
• Timber prices constantly rising.
• Easy marketability.

3. WCA 2014 3
TEAK: AN ELITE TREE
• Teak had been treated as royal tree.
• Nationalized timber: Monopoly of state govts. over its
trade.
• Most of the plantations raised by state forest
departments and its agencies.
• In private sector also, teak plantations raised by
corporate bodies and large land holders only as long
term investment.
• Small farmers had perceived fear of reduction in crop
yield due to shade effect of trees
-Contd.

4. WCA 2014 4
TEAK: NOW, DARLING OF
RURAL POOR TOO
• Small land holders also are now planting teak as an
investment to meet unanticipated emergency
expenditures and treating it as an insurance crop.
• Although, it depends on their socio-economic conditions
and various land use opportunities available to them.
• Teak is also a major component of agroforestry systems.

5. WCA 2014 5
PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
IN MADHYA PRADESH
• PARK LANDS
– Presence of trees (naturally occurring or planted) widely scattered over
large agricultural plots.
– Trees provide shade and also act as roost for insect and rodent eating
birds.
– Prunings provide firewood.
– Common tree species are teak, Babul (Acacia nilotica), Mahua
(Madhuca latifolia)
• SHADE SYSTEMS
– Crops raised under tree canopies
– Trees having fairly open canopies. Examples - Teak, Aonla (Emblica
officinalis), Eycalyptus sp.
– Understorey crops shade tolerant. Ex:- Turmeric, ginger, medicinal
plants.
-Contd.

6. WCA 2014 6
PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY
SYSTEMS IN MADHYA PRADESH
• STRIP ALLEY CROPPING
– Crop strips alternate with single or multiple widely spaced rows
of closely spaced tree species.
– Alley width varies from 3 M to 10 M.
– Most common tree species are teak and Khamer (Gmelina
arborea)
• BOUNDARY SYSTEMS/PERIPHERAL PLANTING
– Field bund planting
– Boundary planting/Live fence
– Can easily accommodate more than 200 plants/ha
– Popular among small farmers
– Preferred woody prennials are: Teak, Bamboo, Khamer, Babool,
Safed Siris (Albizia procera), Ratanjot (Jatropha curcas), Arjun
(Terminalia arjuna)
-Contd.

7. WCA 2014 7

8. WCA 2014 8
• CONTOUR PLANTING ON SLOPING TERRAIN
– Lands cultivated by small/marginal farmers (especially tribals) in
several districts are situated on sloping terrain.
– These lands are not much productive for raising of sole
agricultural crops.
– Cultivation practices are leading to soil erosion and nutrient loss.
– Contour planting of tree species which require good drainage,
such as Teak, is an ideal solution.
– Most effective on lands with moderate slope of 2-7 %
– Contour furrows form multitude of mini barriers across the flow
path of run off.
-Contd.
PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
IN MADHYA PRADESH

9. WCA 2014 9
PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
IN MADHYA PRADESH
• Stream and river bank planting
– State has large areas situated on the lands of perennial rivers and
seasonal streams.
– Good plantations of Teak, Khamer, Bamboo etc have been raised on
the banks of rivers & streams.
• Block Planting
– Apportioning a certain part of the land for growing trees in blocks
– Spacing varies from species to species and also depends on the
object of management.
– Preferred by large land holders and absentee landlords.
– Preferred species are Teak, clonal Eucalyptus, Khamer, grafted
Amla, etc.
• Homestead Plantations
– Preferred species are Bamboo and edible fruit bearing trees

10. WCA 2014 10

11. WCA 2014 11
MAIN AGROFORESTRY SPECIES IN
MADHYA PRADESH
Woody Perennials
• Teak, Babool, Khamer, Eucalyptus, Amla, Safed Siris, Arjun,
Bamboo sp,Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), Neem (Azadirachta indica)
Khair (Acacia catechu), Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) Mahua,
Palas (Butea monosperma), Ratanjot, Drumstick (Moringa oleifera),
Karanj, Pongamia pinnata, Kala Siris (Albizia lebbek) Arjan
(Hardwickia binata) Wood apple (Aegle marmelos), Ber (Zizyphus
sp) etc,
Annual Crops
• Wheat, paddy, sugarcane, soybean, maize, gram-red, green and
black, arhar, mustard, medicinal plants-Aswagandha, (Withania
somnifera) Safed Musli, (Chlorophytum borivilianum) etc.

12. WCA 2014 12

13. WCA 2014 13
CHOICE OF MODELS AND SPECIES
UNDER AGRO FORESTRY
• Choice of species and models location specific dependant on
prevailing socio-economic, anthropogenic and environmental
factors.
• Ecological sustainability and fulfillment of diverse needs of
food, fuel, fodder, medicinal herbs, NTFPs etc have traditionally
been the main criteria.
• But, of late, profitability is the over-riding consideration and
therefore, teak is now one of the most popular tree species in
all types of agroforestry systems.

14. WCA 2014 14
FACTORS MAKING TEAK A POPULAR
CHOICE
• Deciduous species remaining leafless for a considerable
period during a year.
• Can be raised with most of the arable crops-wheat,
paddy, sugar-cane, soybean, mustard, groundnut,
vegetables, medicinal plants, etc.
• Kharif (rainy season) crops in rain fed areas and Rabi
(winter) crops in irrigated areas can be easily raised with
teak during initial 3-4 years without any drastic reduction
in crop yields.

15. WCA 2014 15
GROWTH AND YIELD
• Fairly fast growing under favorable conditions- well-drained
fertile soils, irrigation, fertilizer application, etc.
• Growth dependent on number of factors
– Soil type
– Irrigated / rain fed
– Spacing
– Tree/Crop combination
– Type of planting (Block/row/boundary, etc.)
– Inputs (Fertilizers, growth hormones, etc.)
– Quality of planting material.
– Height of 5-8 m and Girth 12-21 cm recorded for 3 year old
plantation under fertigation whereas these figures were 2-3 m
and 4-9 cm respectively under rain fed condition.

16. WCA 2014 16
ECONOMICS OF SOME
AGROFORESTRY MODELS
S.No Agriculture
zone
Districts Model B/C ratio
1. Satpura
hills/Kymore
plateau
Katni Teak + paddy
Eucalyptus +vegetables
Bamboo + vegetables
Guava + paddy
Paddy (Sole crop)
3.98
3.52
3.15
3.02
2.11

17. WCA 2014 17
S.No Agriculture
zone
Districts Model B/C ratio
2. Malwa plateau Indore/
Dewas
Poplar + wheat
Bamboo + wheat
Poplar + Linseed
Eucalyptus + Linseed
Eucalyptus + wheat
Wheat (Sole crop)
2.83
2.26
2.29
2.09
2.01
1.99

18. WCA 2014 18
S.No Agriculture
zone
Districts Model B/C ratio
3. Grid region Gwalior/
Bhind/
Morena
Eucalyptus + mustard
Sirsoo + wheat
Teak + wheat
Eucalyptus + wheat
Wheat (Sole Crop)
2.89
2.50
2.38
2.29
1.92

19. WCA 2014 19
REDUCTION IN CROP YIELD
• Reduction in crop yield varies with tree-crop
combination, planting pattern, planting density, alley
width etc.
• With teak @ 400 plants/ha 11.0 to 20.8 % reduction in
crop yield of soybean was observed upto 4 years of
planting whereas in green gram and black gram it was
20.8% to 37.3% and 21.8 % to 41.8 %
• With subabul, the reduction in crop yield was from 72 to
100 %

20. WCA 2014 20
ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF A TEAK-BASED
AF MODEL
No. of Teak plants/ ha- 200
Particulars Incremental Cost Incremental
Benefit
Cost of planting (including cost of plants) @
Rs 10/- per plant
Rs 2000/-
Reduction in cost of weeding Rs 1000/-
Returns from harvesting of teak poles at the
age of 5 years @ Rs 250/- per pole
Rs 50,000/-
Reduction in crop yield 2nd
year Rs1500/-
3rd
year Rs3000/-
4th
year Rs6000/-
5th
year Rs9000/-
Total Rs 21500/- Rs. 51000/-

21. WCA 2014 21
POTENTIAL FOR EXPANSION OF
AGROFORESTRY IN THE STATE
• Second largest state (Geog. Area 308.20 thousand sq.km)
– Net area own - 152.23 thousand sq.km
– Irrigated area - 74.21thousand sq.km.
– Culturable wastelands - 11.08 thousand sq.km
– Fallow lands - 10.72 thousand sq.km
• Authentic data about the area currently under agroforestry not
available
• Agroforestry has not yet made much head way in the state.
• Huge potential for its expansion exists through
– Row planting on field Bunds (5-15 % of agricultural area is occupied by
field bunds)
– Tree farming on culturable waste lands.
– Contour planting on agricultural lands located on sloping terrain.

22. WCA 2014 22
INTERVENTIONS REQUIRED FOR
REALISATION OF POTENTIAL
• Research interventions
• Extension strategies
• Legal/policy interventions

23. WCA 2014 23
RESEARCH INTERVENTIONS
• Active collaboration and coordination among research
institutions conducting research in AF
– National Centre for Agroforestry Research, Jhansi.
– Agriculture Universities (Jabalpur, Gwalior, Raipur)
– Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur (Regional institute of
ICFRE)
– State Forest Research Institutes (M.P/Chhattisgarh)
• Research Areas
– Identification of suitable tree species compatible with agricultural crops
in different agro-ecological zones.
– Research on allelopathic effects
– Evolution of suitable AF models for each agro-ecological zone
– Development of nursery/planting techniques
– Control of insects and disease
– Pruning and canopy management
– Use of biofertilizers & bio-pesticides
– Seed technology

24. WCA 2014 24
EXTENSION STRATEGY
• Active collaboration and coordination among
– Agriculture universities
– Extension wing of State Forest Department
– Forestry Research Institutes
• Production of quality seed and planting material
• Establishment of demonstration plots and extension of
technology through result demonstration method.
• Publication of extension material
• Capacity building of farmers.

25. WCA 2014 25
LOK VANIKI SCHEME
• Large number of patches of tree-clad
lands/forests/wastelands available under
private/community ownership or admin. control of
Revenue Department.
• Lying unmanaged yielding little or no economic returns.
• Owners facing problems in getting permission for
felling/transport/sale.
• Tempted to somehow get rid of trees standing on these
lands
• Govt. of M.P. launched a novel voluntary scheme 'Lok
Vaniki' to bring such lands under the fold of scientific
management.
Contd.

26. WCA 2014 26
LOK VANIKI SCHEME
• Enactment of Lok Vaniki Act 2001 and framing of rules in 2002.
• Private Forests and Community/Revenue Forests
• Management by Private owner/Gram Sabha/ Village panchayat.
• Preparation of micro plans for sustainable scientific
management.
• Detailed prescriptions about regeneration (including planting,
protection, tree felling, harvesting, etc.)
• Approval of micro plans of area up to 10 ha by D.F.O. and
forwarding to MoEF. GoI for area more than 10 ha.
• No separate permission for tree felling required.
• Forest department to guide, facilitate and monitor
implementation.

27. WCA 2014 27