ABSTRACT
Hortipastoral systems refer to a fruit tree-based agroforestry system which combines fruit trees and forage crops and has been recognized as a sustainable land management system owing to its diversified output and several environmental benefits. The resource base available with the farming community is limited, and with the rise in population and no further scope for extending area under cultivation in the state, the per capita availability of land is declining. The land limits has made difficult to the farmers to fulfill land requirement for cultivation of fodder and forage. As per the estimates of the horticulture department of Jammu and Kashmir, more than 325,000 hectares is under fruit orchards. The scope exists that the introduction of fodder crops as inter-crop in orchards, which has by and large remained untapped for fodder development. The utilization of these orchards can give a big boost to livestock development. Orchard floor management practices have been found not only important for the overall health and productivity of fruit trees but also indispensable for improving soil quality, ensuring weed suppression, and orchard access. 36Grassing down the alleyways with perennial grasses and legumes and maintaining a vegetation-free tree row has been recommended orchard floor management practice. Hortipastoral systems, therefore, is one of the ideal strategy of land use management that combines forage crops, preferably perennial, and fruit trees into an integrated production system to get maximum provisioning and environmental benefits. The yield and quality of forage crops in hortipastoral systems can be enhanced by introducing shade-tolerant grass-legume mixtures. However, management of such an integrated system can be challenging because of complexity in design and management. There is a need for long-term investigation involving socio-economic and ecological principles, to find the right mix of trees and forage crops for maximum benefits.
