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Options for sustainable land management in the mid-hills of Nepal: experiences of testing and demonstration of contour hedgerow intercropping technology

Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsMaskey, R, B.
Journal TitleMountain agriculture in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region: Proceedings of an International Symposium held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 21-24 May, 2001
Pagination79-84
Key Wordsagricultural land; biomass; buckwheat; crop yield; cropping; systems; maize; runoff; sloping land; Albizia lebbeck; Bauhinia purpurea; Dalbergia sissoo; Desmodium; Fagopyrum esculentum; Flemingia macrophylla; Indigofera; Leucaena; leucocephala; Tephrosia
AbstractA study was conducted to test the applicability of sloping agricultural land technology (SALT) as an alternative farming system option in Nepal to achieve sustainable production by reducing soil erosion on the hill slopes. The treatments were as follows: 1- farmer's practice (traditional); 2- farmer's practice + hedgerows ( Dalbergia sissoo ); 3- farmer's practice + hedgerows ( D. sissoo ) and without fertilizer; 4- farmer's practice + hedgerows ( Desmodium rensonii ); and 5- farmer's practice + hedgerows ( Dalbergia sissoo ) + fruit trees (mango). The amounts of runoff water and soil loss were low in all the treatments. The mean runoff water volume for 5 years (1996-2000) was highest (218 m3/ha) for treatment 5 and lowest (146 m3/ha) for treatment 3. The 5-year average yield of maize was highest (3.1 tonnes/ha) in treatment 5 and lowest (2.1 tonnes/ha) in treatment 4, which had similar yield to treatment 1. The highest 5-year average buckwheat yield (0.6 tonne/ha) was obtained in treatment 3 followed by treatment 2 (0.5 tonne/ha), and the lowest (0.4 tonne/ha) in treatment 1. Eight leguminous and non-leguminous perennial hedgerow plant species were tested: Dalbergia sissoo, Bauhinia purpurea, Albizia lebbeck, Tephrosia candida, Leucaena leucocephala, Indigofera sp. (local), Flemingia macrophylla and Desmodium rensonii . The maximum fresh biomass yield (4.98 kg/m) was obtained from ( Desmodium rensonii ) and the lowest (0.5 kg/m) from Albizia lebbeck .