The ancient agroforestry and agricultural biodiversity of crops on the basis of irrigated walnut orchard
Type: Technologies
Creation: 2011-11-04 06:57 Updated: 2019-08-19 12:31
Compilers: Gulniso Nekushoeva
Reviewers: David Streiff, Alexandra Gavilano
Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment
- Country: Tajikistan
- Region/ State/ Province: Tajikistan GBAO
- Further specification of location (e.g. municipality, town, etc.), if relevant: Vanch Udob
- Map: View Map
Description of the SLM Technology
Short description of the Technology
Combining variety of agricultural crops and nut orchards in the same area leads to more efficient use of scarce irrigated land in arid land-poor mountain regions
Detailed description of the Technology
Technology on agroforestry: planting cereals, pulses, potatoes and perennial forage crops in the inter/row of irrigated walnut orchard and receiving yield of several crops from one and the plot. This technology is widespread in many arable lands along the narrow valley in Vanch district and very well adaptable to local conditions mainly thanks to irrigation. According to local people, it is quite an ancient technology and existed for more than 200 years. 1980-90s these land areas belonged to sovkhoz and in the wide inter-rows of walnut orchards people used to grow tobacco, which was the highly paid crop. Today people plant there necessary crops, and so, this old technology returned. These gardens are gorgeous and become a symbolic place of the region. Normally, walnut does not grow in this area as the amount of the precipitation in there is not enough.
Purpose of the Technology: Rational use of small areas of the most fertile irrigated land in the narrow mountainous valley in order to guarantee self-sufficiency of households with diverse products. (i.e. receiving diverse crops from the same place).
Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Judging by the way young orchards were planted on the natural moraine terraces on the slopes people there are trying to introduce exactly this technology. First, different types of fruit trees are planted 5-6 meters far from each other, but walnut trees are planted very far from each other. Life of fruit trees do not last as long as walnut trees, and therefore, fruit trees are later uprooted leaving the long-living walnut in that plot. This is, probably, the reason why the distance between walnut trees are so big.
Initial measures: territory is cleaned from stones, which are used for fencing to protect the area from animals; digging up main irrigation channel, and from it, smaller channels reaching all parts of the garden along which different fruit trees and walnut are planted; between the rows cereals, beans and perennial forage are planted.
Natural / human environment: The garden is located in Udob village, Teharv jamoat. Heigh - 2115м. The area of arable plot is not big. Farming is impossible without irrigation because of the low rainfall.
Although walnut wood is valued as a good construction material, here people prefer to have walnuts. Vanch walnuts are famous for it taste and high yield. In cases, when a big walnut tree falls down, it can be profitably sold to local masters, who make a big wooden plates and spoons, which are widely used in the households and famous as a souvenirs. Even through at the beginning a household is able to receive only beans, potatoes, grains, fodder and do not receive any yield from fruit trees for 8-10 years (walnut trees give yield even later), many farmers still use this technology. This region is famous with its fruits (apples, mulberries etc.) and with high quality walnuts.
Photos of the Technology
- 📍 MBAO, Tajikistan, Udob, Teharb
- 📷 Nekushoeva Gulniso (Dushanbe)
- 📍 MBAO, Tajikistan, Udob, Teharb
- 📷 Nekushoeva Gulniso (Dushanbe)