Resource conservation through Medicinal Aromatic and dye crops in Rainfed regions Training manual on Technological advances in conservation of natural resources in rainfed agriculture

Abstract

The rainfed regions are characterized by erratic and ill distribution of rainfall, low fertility, high temperature, fast blowing dry winds, rapid percolation of water and higher transpiration rate as a result the vegetation is very poor and this causes soil erosion. .(Rock storm etal 2003). Moreover the population explosion has extended arable farming to the marginal lands, which has led to their further degradation and farming on such lands is is leading to falling factor productivity and profitability of dryland crops and this has widened the socio-economic gap between rainfed and irrigated systems. Hence to increase the productivity and profitability of the farmers there is an urgent need to improve the rain water productivity by utilizing the dwindling water resources efficiently This can be achieved by including some drought resistant, efficient water utilizing high value crops like medicinal aromatic and dye crops in to the drylands production systems, soil and water conservation. Soil moisture stress during reproductive phase is the most important limiting factor. Diversification with high value crops like medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), which do not have critical stages, or reproductive stages help in increasing the water productivity and provide stability to rainfed agriculture. Moreover the water stress may have positive reactions in improving the quality of the crops through biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and this secondary metabolites may improve the drought resistance to plants. Therefore the quality of this crops is enriched under dryland conditions. Preliminary studies at CRIDA proved these assumptions (Pratibha and Korwar 2002). Hence cultivation of MAPs have become a highly desirable proportion for realising higher water productivity and can replace the existing uneconomical arable crops and also play vital role in sustained environmental restoration of degraded lands and provide livelihoods for the poor farmers. In India, it is estimated that the collection and processing of medicinal plants contributes to at least 35 million workdays of employment per annum (Karki, 2002). The different alternate high value crops that can be cultivated in rainfed regions are medicinal, aromatic and dye crops.The article describes MAPDS conservation, and the role of MAPDs in natural resource conservation.