Abstract
Salvadora oleoides Decne (Peelu) occurs widely in the dry and arid regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The fruits of S. oleoides are sweet and edible and the seed fat which is inedible ranges between 40-50%. An intensive survey of Araba area in Barmer District of Western Rajasthan has revealed that S. oleoides grows either in the farmers’ field or on the farm boundaries as it does not have any significant negative effect on the under story crops. S. oleoides is a source of fodder particularly for camel besides its obvious environments benefits and its edible fruits. Study has been conducted to find out the economic potential of S. oleoides based agroforestry system. It was revealed that the meagre (about 5%) loss of grain (Bajra) production due to canopy coverage is not only made up by the sale of edible fruits but results in net profit of Rs. 2,400/- per hectare to the farmer. The economic ratio of the crop production without S. oleoides trees vis-à-vis S. oleoides based Agroforestry system was found to be 1:1.23 and in case farmer himself manages fruit processing for the preparation of Peelu squash, the economic ratio rises to 1:1.75.
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