Adaptability and Productivity of <I>Cassia angustifolia</I> in Sandy Soil of Indian Desert

Abstract

Growth and productivity of Cassia angustifolia was studied during 1997 to 2000 in presence of adult neighbours namely Acacia tortilis , Prosopis juliflora and Calligonum polygonoides. The objectives were to find out suitable combination to control sand drift and to increase overall productivity of arid area. Seedlings of above species were planted in September 1996 , whereas the C. angustifol ,ia was sown in July 1997. Growth of woody perennials , growth , phenology , biomass productivity and root study of C. angustifolia and soil water content were the recorded observations. C. angustifolia flowered twice in a year and remains green during peak summer of May and June and therefore would be beneficial in sand drift control. It had deep penetrating roots to gather limiting resources in this unproductive land. Production of C. angustifolia was higher (P<0.05) with C. polygonoides as compared to P. juliflora and A. tortilis. Soil water content was higher under C. polygonoides than that under other two species and suggested to be due to spreading type of canopy. Fresh weight of stem + twigs and leaves of C. angustifolia ranged from 61.9% to 66.7% and 33.3% to 38.1% , respectively with total above ground biomass production of 3.70 to 7.35 tonnes ha^-l. There was no difference between biomass of summer and autumn harvesting , though the production decreased with age of the plants. The combination of C. polygonoides and C. angustifolia was best to increase production of this dry land with additional benefits of sand drift control.