Traditional Agroforestry System in India- Shifting Cultivation, Taungya, Home Garden, Alley Cropping and Intercropping

1. Submitted by:
Janaharshini R

2.  Traditional agroforestry systems (TAFS) may be described as a set of
age-old agroforestry systems which are generally devoid of intentional
intensified cultivation of agricultural or forage crops and which have
been practiced across the world with varying structure, function, socio-
economic attributes and ecological services.
 Each of the agroforestry systems are unique to the region incorporating
their native trees into traditional agroforestry system .
 Some of the prominent traditional agroforestry systems and practices
are Shifting cultivation, Taungya cultivation, Alley Cropping etc.,

3.  Shifting Cultivation
 Taungya
 Home Gardens
 Alley Cropping
 Intercropping
=> These agroforestry systems are
followed in Lowland humid and
subhumid tropics.

5.  It is a pattern of land use and a system of production of crops under
which plots of land are cleared, cultivated for a short period for raising
one, two or three crops, after which the land is allowed to rest longer
than the period of cultivation.
 It is considered as most destructive one for forest areas.
 Shifting cultivation is often practiced by primitive tribes in the forested
highlands of the Amazon basin, Congo basin.
 Practised in : North-eastern hill region comprising the states of Assam,
Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh ,Mizoram
and to some extent in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha
and Karnataka .

6. Amazon Basin

7.  Slash and burn cultivation
 Jhum – in North –Eastern hill region
 Dahiya or Bewar – in Madhya Pradesh
 Penda or Podu – in Andhra Pradesh
 Khallu / Kurwa - in Jharkhand
 Khil – in Himalayan belt
 Pamlou- in Manipur
 Kumari – in Western Ghats
 Pama Dabi or Koman – in Odisha
 Taungya – in Burma
 Chena – in Sri Lanka

8. Farming Cycle of Shifting Cultivation

9.  Clearings made in the rainforest by cutting and firing trees (
slash and burn).
 Largest trees often left because they are difficult to move and
can provide a source of food in the form of fruit.
 Ash is scattered after trees have been burned to fertilise the
ground.
 Little fertiliser is added apart from the ash, so the nutrient
level drops quickly leading to the cultivars abandoning the
plot and finding a new one after 7 to 10 years.
 Labour intensive and little use of machines .

10.  Crops tend to be planted using digging sticks.
 Crops planted between remaining tree trunks which
decompose slowly adding extra nutrients into the soil .
 When the clearing is abandoned it is left for many years ,
allowing the vegetation to recolonise.
 With a low population density this form of agriculture is
sustainable.

12. Slash and Burn
• Slash and Burn (another name of shifting cultivation) is mostly practiced in Central
America, Madagascar, Africa, India, Papua, New Guinea, etc.

13.  Slash and burn agriculture also called as fire fallow cultivation is a farming method
that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a
field called swidden.
 The method begins by clearing trees and woody plants in an area.
 The downed vegetation is known as ‘slash’, which is then left to dry .
 Then the biomass is burned resulting in a nutrient rich layer of ash which makes the
soil fertile and eliminating weed and pest species.
 After threes to five years the plot’s productivity decreases due to depletion of
nutrients , causing the farmers to abandon the field and move to a new area.

14. SLASHING AND BURNING
DownedVegetation  SLASH
Field creating by cutting and burning for
farming  SWIDDEN

15.  Fallows are crop land left without crops for periods ranging from one season to several
years.
 The OBJECTIVE of improved fallow species in shifting cultivation is to recover depleted
soil nutrients and reduce soil erosion. Once the soil has recovered, crops are
reintroduced for one or more season.
 The BEST SPECIES for the fallow system should induce good nitrogen fixation in the soil.
 Plants included in improved fallows should be compatible with future crops, free of any
negative physical or chemical effects on the soil and not in competition with the crops to
be planted later on the same site.

16. Fallow period and Crop yield & soil productivity in
shifting cultivation
The cultivation phase is usually short (2-3 years),
but the regeneration phase, known as the
fallow or bush fallow phase, is much longer
(traditionally 10-20 years).The length of the
fallow phase is considered critical to the
success and sustainability of the practice.

17.  Useful trees and shrubs are left standing and are sometimes lightly
pruned ; other trees and shrubs are pruned down to stumps of varying
height to facilitate fast regeneration support for climbing species that
require staking.
 The length of the cropping and fallow phases vary considerably , the
former being more variable.
 Usually the fallow phase is several times longer than the cropping
phase.
 During this period the soil, having been depleted of its fertility during the
cropping period , regains its fertility through the regenerative action of
woody vegetation.

19. Improved fallows can be established in a variety of ways and at various stages of the
fallow. Methods might include:
 Direct seeding of clean tilled, harvested plots;
 Selective cutting of bush, followed by enrichment planting with tall seedlings;
 Introducing tall seedlings and cuttings into poor-quality fallows on degraded land;
 Planting tree seedlings in closely spaced, deep planting holes or furrows within
blocks of cleared cropland.
The exact techniques vary with the previous land use, value of the fallow vegetation
condition of the land and expected duration of the fallow.

20.  Species choice should be exclusively confined to ‘ soil improvers’ ; plants
with marketable products should also be considered.
 Plants included in improved fallows should be compatible with future
crops, free of any negative physical or chemical effects on the soil and
not in competition with the crops to be planted later on the same site.

21.  Small investment needed.
 Simple growing method.
 No need of animal labour power.
 Environmentally friendly because its organic form.
 It may reduce the incidence of soil borne diseases.
 It can play a part in pest management.

22.  Deforestation
 Destroying the habitats of wild animals
 Soil erosion which leads to soil and nutrient losses, silting of reservoirs and
streams, landslips and landslides.
 Ecology is disturbed and distorted which never restored.
 Shifting cultivation adversely affects cation exchange capacity and physical
properties of soil. It leads to lowering of organic matter and lowering the total
quantity of sesquioxides, iron, aluminum, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, etc.
 Increases soil pH and reducing microbial activity
 More weed growth and lower crop yield
 No opportunity for infrastructural development

23.  Motivate public for permanent agriculture by opening demonstration center's for
improved agricultural practices , good quality seed , manuring , irrigation , weeding .
 Engaging local people in forest work and training them to undertake shifting cultivation
on scientific basis.
 Arable lands can be given to tribal’s for carrying out agriculture and also to settle in the
area , a few schemes are being implemented under integrated tribal development
schemes
 Legal measures on steep slopes , near to roadsides .
 Development of animal husbandry and dairy farming.
 Using land according to its capability.
 Employment in forest works and other industries.

24.  It is a faulty land use which enhances soil degradation by way of soil erosion.
 It is a primitive method of cultivation in which crop yields are less and
requires hardwork.
 Due to complete cutting and burning of vegetation there is an abrupt
changes in soil microbial population.
 There is loss nutrients from the soil through run off, leaching and
percolation.
 The carbon, nitrogen ratio reduces due shifting cultivation.
 The excessive run-off in the shifting cultivated areas causes floods in the
adjoining plains.
 Denudation of hill slopes takes place.
 Wildlife in the shifting cultivated areas is badly affected. It disturbs the fauna.
 Forest flora become weak and grow sparsely.

25.  Taung – Hill + Ya – Cultivation = Taungya
 Modified form of Shifting cultivation
 Burmese Word coined in Burma (1850’s)
 Introduced in India by D.Brandis in 1890
 First taungya Plantation was in 1896 at Bengal
 South –Kumari
 Practised in 1200 – 1500 mm rainfall areas
 Practised in: Kerala , West Bengal , UP and to a
lesser extent in Tamil nadu, AP and Orissa

26.  Crops are allowed to raise in the interspaces of the tree species.
 Cultivators are responsible for the upkeep of the plantation.
 The practice consists of land preparation, tree planting, growing
agricultural crops for 1-3 years, until shade becomes too dense, and then
moving on to repeat the cycle in a different area.
 In some cases, crops may be grown one year before the trees are planted.
 This system was introduced to raise forest plantation but finally became a
recognized agroforestry system.

27. a) Departmental Taungya
 Under this, agricultural crops and Plantation are raised by the
forest department by employing a number of labourers on daily
wages.
 The MAIN AIM of raising crops along with the plantation is to
keep down weed growth.

28. (b)Leased Taungya
The plantation land is given on lease to the person who
offers the high money for raising crops for a specified number
of years and ensures care of tree plantation.

29. (c) Village Taungya
 This is the most successful of the three taungya systems.
 In this crops are raised by the people who have settled down in a village
inside the forest for this purpose.
 Usually each family has about 0.8 to 1.7 ha of land to raise trees and
cultivate crops for 3 to 4 years.

30.  The Taungya is considered as another step in the process of
transformation from shifting cultivation to agroforestry.
 Shifting system is sequential system of growing woody species and
agricultural crops.
 Taungya consist of the simultaneous combination of the two
components during the early stages of forest plantation
establishment.
 OBJECTIVE- Wood production in the Taungya system while food
production in shifting cultivation.
 In shifting cultivation the length of the agricultural cycle can last only
as long as the soil sustains the reasonable crop yields.
 In Taungya , it is primarily dependent on the physical availability of
space and light based on the planting arrangement of the trees.

31. A)TREES
 Tectona grandis
 Bamboo
 Santalum album
 Tamarindus indica
 Acacia nilotica (Babul tree)
 Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle tree)
 Ceiba pentandra (Kapok tree -Illava maram)
 Cashew, Rubber
B) CROPS
 Millet, pulses, groundnut,cotton

32. State Tree crop Associated agricultural crops
UP
Sal tree , teak , Black
cutch(Cenkarungali) , Indian
rosewood, Eucalyptus species
Maize , paddy , sorghum , pigeon
pea , soyabean , wheat , barley ,
chick pea
Andhra Pradesh
Cashew tree, Teak , silk cotton tree ,
Bamboo , Eucalyptus species
Hill paddy , groundnut, sweet
potato
Kerala
Teak , silk cotton tree , Eucalyptus
species
Paddy , tapioca ,ginger, turmeric
Tamil nadu
Teak , Indian sandalwood, tamarind ,
Gum Arabic tree , black wattle tree ,
cashew , rubber , mango , Kapok tree
Millet ,pulses , groundnut ,
cotton
Maharashtra
Teak , Gum Arabic tree Sunhemp , jute ,sunflower ,
castor
Karnataka Teak , Indian sandalwood tree Paddy , tapioca
West Bengal
Teak , Sal tree , needle wood tree,
Japanese cedar
Paddy , maize , millets ,turmeric ,
ginger , lady’s finger , pineapple

33.  Artificial regeneration of the forest is obtained cheaply
 Problems of unemployment are solved
 Helps towards maximum utilization of the site
 Low cost method of forest plantation establishment
 Highly remunerative to forest departments
 Provision of food crops from forest land
 Weed, climber growth etc. is eliminated

34.  Loss of soil fertility and exposure of soil
 Danger of epidemics
 Legal problems created
 Susceptibility of land to accelerated erosion increases
 There is an exploitation of human labour

35.  Free grazing for animals
 Free timber for house construction and manufacturing agricultural
Implements
 Schooling facilities for children
 Monitory loan at nominal interest
 Water supply by excavation of wells and construction of ponds.

36.  This system is found extensively in high rainfall areas in
tropical south and South east Asia.
 This practice finds expression in the states of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu with the humid tropical climates where
coconut is the main crop.
 Many species of trees, bushes, vegetables and other herbaceous plants are grown in dense
and in random or spatial and temporal arrangements.
 Most home gardens also support a variety of animals.
 Fodder grass and legumes are also grown to meet the fodder requirement of cattle.

37.  They are small –more or less around 0.5 ha .
 The other main characteristic of the home garden
is their high productivity rates and diversity of the
production to satisfy the primary needs of the
farmer, like food fuel, timber and cash.
 The whole tree-crop-animal units are being
intensively managed by family labour .
 Home gardens are also called as Multitier system or Multitier cropping.
 They are highly productive, sustainable and very practicable. Food production is the primary
function of most home gardens.

38. It is characterized by high species diversity and usually 3-4 vertical canopy
strata.
 Herbaceous layer near the ground
 Tree layer at the upper levels and
 Intermediate layer

39.  The lower layer partitioned in to two, the lowermost being
at less than 1.0m in height, dominated by different
vegetables and the second layer of 1.0 -3.0m height
comprising food crops such as banana, papaya and so on.
 The upper tree layer can also be divided into two, consisting
of emergent, full grown timber and fruit crops occupying
the uppermost layer of 25m in height and medium sized
trees of 10-20 m occupying the next lower layer.
 The intermediate layer of 5-10 m height is dominated by
various fruit trees.

41. a) Woody species :
Anacardium occidentale (Cashew), Artocarpus heterophyllus (Bread fruit),
Citrus sp, Psiduim guajava (Guava), Mangifera indica (Mango),
Azadirachta indica (Neem tree), Cocus nucifera(Coconut)
b) Herbaceous species:
Bhendi, Onion, cabbage
Pumpkin, Sweet potato
Banana, Beans, etc.

42.  Alley cropping is planting rows of trees at wide spacing
with a companion crop grown in the alleyways between
the rows.
 Alley cropping can diversify farm income, improve crop
production and provide protection and conservation
benefits to crops.
 Common example – wheat , corn , soyabeans or hay
planted in between rows of black walnut or pecan trees.
 Value added crops may also be incorporated for extra
income , including sunflower or medicinal herbs planted
in between rows of nut trees alternated with nursery
stock trees.

44.  Positioned in an east-west direction
 Plants on both sides receive full sunlight
 Spacing - 4 to 8 metres between rows
 25 cm to 2 metres between trees within rows
 Closer spacing - humid areas
 Wider spacing - subhumid or semi-arid regions
 On sloping land - always be placed on contour

45.  Alley cropping usually includes leguminous trees to improve soil fertility
through nitrogen fixation.
 The trees used in alley cropping should form a deep taproot system with
few lateral root branches near the surface so as not to compete with crop
roots.
 The trees / shrubs used should fix nitrogen and should also produce
wood, fodder , food, medicine for the usage to farming community.
 The species selected should grow well under the specific limitations of
the site such as saline or acidic soils , drought , flooding , heavy winds ,
resistant to pest or other hazards.
 It should have a sparse , small crown to permit sunlight penetration .
 Cassia siamea , Leucaena leucocephala(Subabul), Gliricidia sepium,
Calliandra calothyrsus, Sesbania sesban are commonly used tree species
for alley cropping.

47.  Improved crop performance due to the addition of nutrients and organic matter
into the soil/plant system.
 Reduction of the use of chemical fertilisers.
 Improvement in the physical nature of the soil environment.
 Reductions in erosion losses.
 Provision of additional products such as forage, firewood or stakes when a
multipurpose tree legume is used as the hedgerow, and
 Improvement in weed control.

48.  Alley cropping provides the opportunity to grow wood or other tree products
such as nuts or fruit , while providing an annual income through the production
of companion crops.
 Alley cropping diversifies farm enterprises by providing short term cash flow
from annual crops while also providing medium to long term products from the
woody components.
 Alley cropping protects fragile soils through a network of roots produced by the
trees and supplemental ground cover resulting from fallen leaves and the
companion crop.

49.  Alley cropping reduces damage from insect pest by reducing crop
visibility , interfering with pest movement and creating habitat more
favorable to beneficial insects.
 It can reduce crop evapotranspiration by 15-30 % and increase water
content in the tillage layer by 5-15%.
 Linear plantings of trees or shrubs in an agricultural landscape increases
the habitat diversity for wildlife.

50.  Requires a more intensive management system including
specialized equipment for the tree management and
additional managerial skills and training to manage multiple
crops on a given site.
 Trees may be an obstacle to crop cultivation if not carefully
planned and designed.
 Trees compete with companion crops for sun, moisture and
nutrients.
 Herbicide drift from crops may damage trees.

51.  Spatial arrangement of crops.
 The annual and Perennial crop components
are simultaneously present on site but are
spaced in such a manner that they became
mutually supportive rather than competing.
 Under such circumstances, they may jointly
yield higher outputs per hectare per year.

52.  Border tree planting
 Alternate rows
 Alternate strips
 Random mix

53.  Lines of trees specifically a boundary markers, live
fences, wind breaks or fire breaks.
 Protecting or stabilizing the site
 Producing green manure as organic fertilizer and
producing fuel wood.

54.  Alley , Avenue, Corridor , Zonal or
Hedgerow cropping
 Found most effective for erosion
control and slope stabilization.

55.  A Strip differs from a
row in that it is
composed of two or
more rows

56.  Displays no specific or orderly placement of the component
crops.
 The Plants actually occupy their own special ecological niches
and are able to coexist very well.

57.  Intercrops should occupy a second place in orchard , primary consideration
being given to the perennial fruit trees.
 The crops that may grow tall and have a tendency towards excessive growth
should be discouraged.
 At least 120cm radius must be left from the base of the growing fruit trees
for taking intercrops.
 Intercrops should be selected that do not exhaust the nutrients and moisture
from soil , which is essential for the growth of trees.
 Perennial or exhaustive crops should be discouraged as an intercrop in the
orchards. This may have a devitalizing effect on the growing trees.

58.  Yield decreases as the crops differ in their competitive
abilities.
 Management of intercultural crops having different
cultural practices seems to be difficult task.
 Harvesting is difficult
 Higher amount of fertilizer or irrigation water cannot
be utilized properly as the component crops vary in
their response of these resources.