D. V. Singh , A. K. Sikka , M. Madhu , Subhash Chand , C. Henry

Abstract

A study was conducted to quantify runoff and soil loss under the cultivation of prominent medicinal and aromatic plants in the high hills of Nilgiris, in order to assess their relative soil and water conservation efficiencies. Six species, namely Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) , Cineraria (Ceneraria maritima), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Mentha (Mentha piperita) and Digitalis (Digitalis purpurea) were planted in 15 m × 5 m plots on 15 percent land slope. Geranium recorded highest average green biomass yield followed by Digitalis, Cineraria, Mentha and Rosemary. Runoff and soil loss was maximum under Thyme followed by Cineraria because of their poor canopy cover. The lowest average annual soil loss and run off, over four years, was observed from Digitalis followed by Mentha and Geranium due to their quick establishment and higher canopy coverage. Relative Soil and Water Conservation Efficiency (RSWCE) varied from 36.4 per cent under Cineraria to 96.6 percent under Digitalis with Mentha, Geranium and Rosemary registering RSWCE of 95.1, 88.4 and 87.8 percent, respectively. It is suggested that Digitalis, Mentha, Geranium and Rosemary cultivation could be the best options for a diversified land use system as well as for cover crop, intercrop and vegetative barrier in the Nilgiris for effective soil conservation.

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D. V. Singh

Abstract

Forests are as integral a part of fanning system as arable land and livestock. Thus, crop production, animal husbandry and forestry constitute the three main closely and inseparably integrated component in hill farming system. Forests are more closely linked with livestock as compare to other component of the mountain farning system. The number of livestock kept per household in hills is mainly determined by the available forest and grazing land in the area. Forest provides feed and bedding material to the livestock and these inputs constitute 49 per cent of total cost of production. Similarly forests contributes 19,20 and 26 per cent in total cost of production of foodgrain, fruits and vegetable, respectively. Besides these contributions, forests fulfils more than 90 per cent domestic energy requirement of hill people and out of which public forests accounts for 50 per cent of total requirement. An attempt has been made in this paper to assess the contribution of forest in farming systcm of the State.

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D. V. Singh

Abstract

The present study is designed to know the extent of forest resources and economic returns to the rural people of Himachal Pradesh and is based on field data collected under wood balance study of A.E.Rr Centre, H.P. University, Shimla from 560 respondents of different size classes spread in four agro-climatic zones of the State. The study aims at' not only estimating the extent of dependence of locals upon forests, but also at providing a value (in monetary terms) to the usufructs availed by the villagers from the forests in the State. The sampling design of study is based on multistage stratified random sampling. The data pertains to 365 days for the year 1989-90 and was collected by day to day accounting.

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