This book discusses ways of increasing production/unit area by
making full use of the soil and water under the harsh climatic
conditions of semiarid areas. This leads to improved
sustainability, increased availability of fresh produce, which is
vital for human health and higher incomes for small and marginal
farmers. Arid and semiarid areas account for almost 70 per cent of
the total cropped area of India. In these areas physical
constraints like low and erratic rainfall, high temperature, high
wind velocity, low fertility, poor soil structure, salinity of soil
and ground water all limit reliable crop production. In the absence
of any type of aggregation, the soils are highly erodible, lack
structure and have a very coarse in texture with low water holding
capacity. Intensive agricultural practices, increasing population
pressure, climatic changes, environmental pollution, loss of
biodiversity, soil erosion, salinization and water depletion are
all threatening the sustainability of agriculture. In view of the
mounting demand for food, it is vital to link enhanced food
production with nutritional security, conservation of natural
resources, increasing farmers' incomes, employment generation
through agricultural diversification. Horticulture, particularly of
fruit trees, can play a major role in solving the problem of
nutrition, as fruits are rich source of vitamins and minerals and
have antioxidant properties. Fruit trees, which are mostly
deciduous, add leaf litter to the soil, and this ultimately helps
to improve the condition of the soil. In addition, fruit trees are
known to reduce soil erosion and reduce run off. The trees also
play a major role in purifying the environment as they are the
known carbon sequesters. Fruit-tree cultivation is a profitable
preposition. There is no scope to increase the land surface; all
increase in productivity therefore has to be from the available
land. This means introducing cropping systems that can meet the
basic food, fodder and fuel requirement of farming families.
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