Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Production and Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Understorey of Degraded Chir Pine Forests Using Sustainable Techniques


Affiliations
1 Uttarakhand Forest Department, Dehradun 248 001, India
2 ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, RC, Vasad 388 306, India
3 College of Forestry, Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan 173 230, India
4 Department of Forestry, Sarguja Vishwavidayalaya, Ambikapur 497 001, India
5 College of Forestry, Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan 173 230, India
 

In general, little emphasis is given on the production of medicinal plant species for sustainable harvest and conservation in the understorey of degraded forests. For instance, forests like chir pine which are not managed to grow any medicinal plants, offer an opportunity to produce and conserve native medicinal plants. This article highlights a study focusing on the production of medicinal plants in association with Chir pine forests, involving sustainable management techniques like minimum tillage and selecting suitable aspects for the sustainable harvest and conservation of plants under the canopy of trees. The medicinal plants were grown on three topographical aspects - Northern, North-Western and Western by adopting three tillage depths, viz. minimum (0 cm), medium (up to 10 cm) and deep tillage (up to 15 cm), in open and below tree canopy conditions. From yield and economic point of view, Andrographis paniculata, Mucuna pruriens, Solanum khasianum and Spilanthes acmella were found to be better yielding and more remunerative in comparison to Withania somnifera, Cymbopogon nardus and Ocimum basilicum, when grown outside the tree canopy adopting deep tillage on the Western aspect in Chir pine forests. The study can also be applicable to the other parts of the country to produce and conserve native medicinal plant species using sustainable management techniques like minimum tillage in blank patches or understorey of the degraded forests.

Keywords

Chir Pine, Degraded Forest, Medicinal Plants, Production and Conservation, Sustainable Management.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Bodeker, G., Medicinal Plants: Towards Sustainability and Security, IDRC Medicinal Plants Global Network Sponsored Discussion Paper for WOCMAP III, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2002.

  • Guleria, C., Vaidya, M. K., Sharma, R. and Dogra, D., Economics of production and marketing of important medicinal and aromatic plants in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh. Econ. Affairs, 2014, 5(3), 363–378.

  • Temptesa, M. S. and King, S., Tropical plants as a source of new pharmaceuticals. In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing International: The International Review of Pharmaceutical Technology Research and Development (ed. Barnacal, P. S.), Sterling Publications Ltd, London, 1994.

  • Indian Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, Mumbai, 1996.

  • Lambert, J. et al., Medicinal Plants: Rescuing a Global Heritage, World Bank, Washington, 1997.

  • Zou, X. and Sanford, R. L., Agroforestry systems in China: a survey and classification. Agrofor. Syst., 1990, 11, 85–94.

  • Anderson, G. W., Green Pinus radiate needles as feed for sheep. Aust. J. Exp. Agric., 1985, 25, 524–528.

  • Anon., Agroforestry – a new kind of farming. Rural Res., 1978, 99, 4–9.

  • Malik, R. S. and Sharma, S. K., Moisture extraction and crop yield as a function of distance from tree row of Eucalyptus tereticornis. Agrofor. Syst., 1990, 12, 187–195.

  • Kliever, I., Casaccia, J., Vallejos, F. and Derpsh, J., Costs and herbicide reduction in the no-tillage system by using green manure cover crops in Paraguay. In Proceedings 15th ISTRO Conference, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 2–7 July 2000.

  • Russell, E. W. and Keen, A. B., Studies on soil cultivation VII. J. Agric. Sci., 1938, 28, 212–233.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Sushma, K. and Kumar, N., An introduction of medicinal and aromatic plants in chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) forest of India: a sustainable technique. In Proceeding of the second International conference on Environmental Science and Technology, Singapur, 26–28 February 2011, vol. 1, pp. 293–296.

  • Kothari, S. K., Singh, C. P., Kumar, Y. V. and Singh, K., Morphology, yield and quality of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) ischolar_mains and its cultivation influenced by its tillage depth and plant density. J. Hortic. Sci. Biotechnol., 2003, 78(3), 422–425.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Kumar Raj and Bhardwaj, S. D., Integration of Andrographis paniculata as potential medicinal plant in chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) plantation of North-Western Himalaya. Scientifica, 2016, 2016, 1–7.

  • Chandra, S. S., Raj, K., Raheel, A. and Bhardwaj, S. D., Performance of Mucuna prurience under chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) plantation of mid hills of Western Himalayas. Agric. Res. Technol., Open Access J., 2016, 1(2), 555–560.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Lone, R. A., Sushma, K., Khan, P. A., Pant, K. S. and Bhardwaj, S. D., Effect of aspect and tillage practices on growth and yield attributes of kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata). Indian For., 2015, 141(2), 198–202.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Sushma, K., Lone, R. A., Khan, P. A., Pant, K. S. and Bhardwaj, S. D., Influence of topographical aspect and tillage practices on kaunch (Mucuna pruriens). Indian J. Ecol., 2013, 40(1), 158–160.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Lone, R. A., Sushma and Kumar, A., Performance of Cymbopogon nardus on different aspects and tillage depths in North Western Himalayas. J. Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 2016, 19(5), 1292–1295.

  • Anon., Indian Forestry Statistics, Ministry of Environmental and Forests. Government of India, 2002, pp. 1–50.

  • Khosla, P. K., Sehgal, R. N. and Chauhan, S. K., Composition of chir pine seed stands for growth and nursery trait. Indian J. For., 1994, 17(3), 196–200.

  • Pathak, S., Society, system and environmnet in the Himalaya. In History of Forestry in India (ed. Rawat, A. S.), Indus Publications, New Delhi, 1991, pp. 326–336.

  • Dutt, V. and Gupta, B., Interaction between trees and ground flora in different aged chir pine stands of sub-tropical region in India. Indian J. For., 2005, 28(3), 273–282.

  • Joshi, M., Singh, S. P. and Rawat, Y. S., Analysis of grazing land vegetation of banoak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) forest zone in Kumaun, Central Himalaya. Range Manage. Agrofor., 1994, 15(1), 1–9.

  • Bisht, J. K. and Gupta, H. S., Fodder production strategies for Uttaranchal under present situation. In Proceeding of the Papers of National Workshop on Sustainable Mountain Agriculture held at Nainital from 27 to 29 September 2002 (eds Shrama, R. et al.), Consul Printers, Nainital, 2003, pp. 233–245.

  • Anon., Biodiversity characterization at landscape level in western Himalayas using satellite remote sensing and geographic information system. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (NRSA), Dehradun, 2002.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Bhardwaj, S. D., Pant, K. S., Sushma and Khan, P. A., Production potential of Withania somnifera under Pinus roxburgii based agroforestry system. Indian J. For., 2011, 34(3), 277–284.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Bhardwaj, S. D., Sushma, K., Lone, R. A., Pant, K. S. and Khan, P. A., Effect of variation of aspect and frequency of tillage depth on growth and yield attributes of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in mid hills of western Himalayas. Med. Plants, 2013, 5, 1–5.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Kumar, R., Anwar, R., Kakade, V., Kerkatta, S. and Bhardwaj, S. D., Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya. For. Ecosyst., 2016, 3(19), 1–9.

  • Sanwal, C. S., Bhardwaj, S. D. and Sushma, Introduction of Medicinal Herbs in Pine Forests, Lambert Academic Publ., Germany, 2014, p. 92.


Abstract Views: 270

PDF Views: 94




  • Production and Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Understorey of Degraded Chir Pine Forests Using Sustainable Techniques

Abstract Views: 270  |  PDF Views: 94

Authors

Chandra Shekhar Sanwal
Uttarakhand Forest Department, Dehradun 248 001, India
Raj Kumar
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, RC, Vasad 388 306, India
Sneha Dobhal
College of Forestry, Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan 173 230, India
Sushma Kerkatta
Department of Forestry, Sarguja Vishwavidayalaya, Ambikapur 497 001, India
S. D. Bhardwaj
College of Forestry, Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan 173 230, India

Abstract


In general, little emphasis is given on the production of medicinal plant species for sustainable harvest and conservation in the understorey of degraded forests. For instance, forests like chir pine which are not managed to grow any medicinal plants, offer an opportunity to produce and conserve native medicinal plants. This article highlights a study focusing on the production of medicinal plants in association with Chir pine forests, involving sustainable management techniques like minimum tillage and selecting suitable aspects for the sustainable harvest and conservation of plants under the canopy of trees. The medicinal plants were grown on three topographical aspects - Northern, North-Western and Western by adopting three tillage depths, viz. minimum (0 cm), medium (up to 10 cm) and deep tillage (up to 15 cm), in open and below tree canopy conditions. From yield and economic point of view, Andrographis paniculata, Mucuna pruriens, Solanum khasianum and Spilanthes acmella were found to be better yielding and more remunerative in comparison to Withania somnifera, Cymbopogon nardus and Ocimum basilicum, when grown outside the tree canopy adopting deep tillage on the Western aspect in Chir pine forests. The study can also be applicable to the other parts of the country to produce and conserve native medicinal plant species using sustainable management techniques like minimum tillage in blank patches or understorey of the degraded forests.

Keywords


Chir Pine, Degraded Forest, Medicinal Plants, Production and Conservation, Sustainable Management.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv112%2Fi12%2F2386-2391