Fruit and Vegetable-based Saline Agricultural Systems for Nutritional and Livelihood Security

Abstract

Food, freshwater and fuelwood requirements are increasing enormously with each passing day due to increase in unchecked world population. Feeding of rapidly increasing population with nutritious food and ensured livelihood security is the biggest challenge of the twenty first century with the prerequisite that land and water resources are limited. Nearly, 1000 million hectares area spread in more than 100 countries are affected by salinity. Moreover, rapid salinization and sodification in the irrigated landscapes are inflicting unacceptable environmental damages. These soils are universally low in fertility with saline aquifers not suitable for conventional agriculture. Soil salinity is the major stress considered under plant science stresses. The need of the hour is to develop environmentally sustainable and economically viable farming systems. Cultivation of profitable crops like fruits and vegetables in farming systems in salt-affected soils is essential for good remuneration with livelihood security. Many fruit trees such as phalsa (Grewia asiatica), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), olive (Olea europaea), guava (Psidium guajava), chicle (Manilkara zapota), Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), jamun/jambolan (Syzygium cuminii), Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), pomegranate (Punica granatum), karonda (Carissa carandas), and bael (Aegle marmelos) have potential for saline environment. Research on plant root systems can be helpful to increase salt tolerance of vegetable crops. The quantitative data in reference to most of the vegetables are limited to draw inferences between salt tolerance threshold and yield reduction. The broad categories of fruit- and vegetable-based agroforestry systems are horti-agri, horti-pastoral, and horti-silvo-pastoral in which intercrops like cluster bean, pearl millet, barley, medicinal and aromatic plants and vegetables (okra, spinach, sugar beet, cabbage, brinjal, kharif onion, muskmelon, chili, tomato), and fodder grasses can be grown individually or along with fruits and/or forest trees under the influence of saline irrigation. Creation of potential productive fodder systems through palatable halophytes is the viable option to rehabilitate saline soils along with additional income to resource-poor farmers in terms of livestock rearing . Similarly, Manilkara hexandra, Morinda citrifolia, Pandanus, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Annona squamosa, A. glabra, local banana (Musa spp), Ardisia solanacea, and A. andamanica are in custom among the local people in coastal areas. Vegetables and fruit crops are important to meet the nutritional requirements of the people involved in farming. Therefore, salt-tolerant fruit plants and vegetable crops provide a sensible alternative for salt-affected landscape with ecological and economic productive services. Fruit and vegetable- based potential agricultural systems for nutritional and livelihood security of the farming communities inhabiting the salt-affected areas is being discussed with recommendations.