AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES OF GUJARAT STATE

SUUMMARY Apart from farm forestry, the most important types of agroforestry practised in Gujarat are peripheral planting (along the borders of fields) and mixed planting (or intercropping). This paper reports the results of a survey into these two types of agroforestry, which have previously received little research attention. Based on a random sample of 563 farmers, stratified by agroclimatic zone, the survey showed that peripheral planting is more popular than mixed planting, except under irrigated conditions when both are equally popular. Agroforestry has been strongly adopted by marginal, small and large farmers all over the state, but is most prevalent in the moderate rainfall zone (800–1,000 mm) of middle Gujarat. Eucalyptus spp. are planted by 90% of farmers in agroforestry systems. The most common espacement is 1 m (peripheral planting) or 1 m × 1 m (mixed planting). Farmers had a diversity of views on the effect of trees on annual crop yields: 51% reported no change, 34% a decrease, and 15% an increase.