Gliricidia: a story of tree domestication
Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) is a small tree which is native to Central America and Mexico. It is grown by small-scale farmers in tropical and subtropical countries for animal fodder, green manure and wood for light construction and fuel. It has the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of extra income for farmers through sales of seed and through faster weight gain in cattle, sheep and goats. However, only a small part of its potential has so far been used. A partnership between the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the BAIF Development Foundation (Pune, India) and the Oxford Forestry Institute (UK) has enabled farmers in the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka to improve both crop and animal production through use of newly-identified, highly productive Gliricidia provenances (original seed sources). BAIF has worked closely with farmers to identify where and how Gliricidia can be most beneficial. Education and training programmes support BAIF's extention (outreach) work and have provided farmers with advice and trees for planting on their farms. In this video, farmers explain why they need and how they manage this tree for more dry-season forage and for improvement of poor arable soils with the nitrogen-rich foliage. Farmers propagate the tree through small cuttings, so that multiplication does not depend on waiting for the tree to flower and set seed.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
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Oxford (RU) CNRD
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| Subjects: | GLIRICIDIA SEPIUM, LEGUMINOSAS FORRAJERAS, DOMESTICACION, PROPAGACION DE PLANTAS, SILVICULTURA, ALIMENTACION DE LOS ANIMALES, USOS, CONSERVACION DE SUELOS, MEJORA DE SUELOS, SECTOR RURAL, CAPACITACIÓN, |
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| Summary: | Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) is a small tree which is native to Central America and Mexico. It is grown by small-scale farmers in tropical and subtropical countries for animal fodder, green manure and wood for light construction and fuel. It has the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of extra income for farmers through sales of seed and through faster weight gain in cattle, sheep and goats. However, only a small part of its potential has so far been used. A partnership between the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the BAIF Development Foundation (Pune, India) and the Oxford Forestry Institute (UK) has enabled farmers in the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka to improve both crop and animal production through use of newly-identified, highly productive Gliricidia provenances (original seed sources). BAIF has worked closely with farmers to identify where and how Gliricidia can be most beneficial. Education and training programmes support BAIF's extention (outreach) work and have provided farmers with advice and trees for planting on their farms. In this video, farmers explain why they need and how they manage this tree for more dry-season forage and for improvement of poor arable soils with the nitrogen-rich foliage. Farmers propagate the tree through small cuttings, so that multiplication does not depend on waiting for the tree to flower and set seed. |
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