Tree Borne Oilseeds for Agroforestry

Abstract

Tree borne oilseeds (TBO's) are gaining importance as a supplementary source of oil for food, fodder, fuel and industrial applications. All products of forests excluding timber have been traditionally classified as Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) or Minor Forest Produce (MFP). In order to prevent over exploitation and ensure sustainable supply, the alternative is to additionally raise them as plantations or in various agroforestry systems. Agroforestry refers to the integration of farming with forestry practices, preferably on the same unit of land on sustainable basis. Agroforestry systems can be in the form of scattered trees, rows or strips of trees and trees in border rows or boundaries. Farm boundary plantations, natural regeneration and scattered trees in farmlands are the main agroforestry components with well known traditional species of tree borne oilseeds like neem, mahua and karanj. The establishment of a successful agroforestry system with tree borne oilseeds as a component begins with the selection of the tree species. Around 300 tree species bearing oleaginous seeds have been reported in literature. This chapter focusses on the potential species for edible grade and industrial oils and agroforestry systems for dry and moist climatic regions as well as different situations based on soil type and length of growing period.