Current Status of Poplar Based Agroforestry for Economic Development:A Case Study of Haridwar and Yamunanagar Districts

The study is the outcome of current status and economic evaluation of Poplar based agroforestry practices followed by farmers in Haridwar and Yamunanagar. Tree species like Populus deltoides, Eucalyptus spp., Mangifera indica and Dalbergia sissoo, were dominant species of commercial agroforestry. The patterns of planting were block (53.74%) and (88.47%) followed by boundary plantation (46.26%) and (11.53%) in Haridwar and Yamunanagar districts respectively. Composition of different species was poplar (77.12% and 90.64%) followed by eucalyptus (18.26% and 7.92%), mango (3.36% and 0.72%) and others (1.26% and 0.72%) in Haridwar and Yamunanagar districts. The net return from block system (Rs.1,96,950) ha^-1 annum^-1 was found higher than the bund system (Rs.1,02,249) ha^-1 annum^-1 in agri-silviculture system. The net return from tree produce (Rs.1,48,067) ha^-1 annum^-1 in block system was higher than the bund system of (Rs.48,883) ha^-1 annum^-1 respectively. In commercial region, B:C ratio was found higher for poplar based agrisilviculture block planting (3.85) than Poplar based agri-silviculture bund system (2.22). Comparatively as per net returns and B:C ratio the block systems were found more economic to bund systems. Therefore, commercial agroforestry seems better promising as compared to traditional agroforestry, and also relevant to the farmer's livelihood.