ABSTRACT
The hot arid regions of India are spread over 32 million hectares in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The arid regions of western Rajasthan experience an annual rain fall between 100-500 mm with a coefficient of variations varying from 40-70 per cent. Since per unit returns from horticultural crops are always higher, their inclusion in the system will improve the net return of farmer besides other advantages due to perennial and multipurpose nature of such crops. Huge area is available under degraded land and wasteland such as sand dunes, ravines, salt affected soils etc. which are much suitable for arable crops alone but by integrating salt tolerant horticultural crops over long period, such soils can be made amenable to crops as well. Moreover, most of the perennial horticultural crops are multipurpose meeting not only the requirement of fresh fruits but also of vegetable, fuel, fodder and fencing materials.
