Sharma, Som DuttSharma, Vanshika2023-06-242023-06-242022-12-26https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810197698The present study entitled “Appraisal of Existing Agroforestry Systems in Sujanpur Tehsil of Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh” was carried out in the year 2021-22. The tehsil is located between 31°83ʹ25"N latitude and 76°50ʹ52"E longitude. To study the socio-economic status and vegetation composition of the land use systems seven panchayats were selected and from each panchayat two villages were selected. In each village, three farmers of each category were selected which were divided on the basis of their land holding viz. marginal category (< 1ha), small category (1-2 ha) and medium category (2-4 ha). Data was collected through field sampling and personal interviews. The study revealed that five different agroforestry systems were practiced by the farmers in the study area namely; Agrisilviculture (AS), Agrihorticulture (AH), Agrisilvihorticulture (ASH), Agrisilvipastoral (ASP) and Silvipastoral (SP) were identified. In medium and small category of farmers all five agroforestry systems were present while in marginal category of farmers silvipastoral system was absent. The average family size of sampled households was 4.40 individuals per family. The literacy rate was recorded highest (92.48) in small category of farmers. Wheat, potato, garlic, cauliflower and cabbage were rabi crops, whereas maize, tomato and turmeric were crops of kharif season. Prominent tree components in agroforestry systems were Acacia catechu, Grewia optiva, Pinus roxburghii , Bauhinia variegata, Toona ciliata, Morus alba, Ficus religiosa and Albizia lebbeck found in pastureland and along the bunds of agriculture fields, whereas fruit trees of Mangifera indica, Morus alba, Litchi chinensis, Psidium guajava and Citrus limon were retained on and around the bunds of the agriculture field. In pasture, the dominant grass species observed were as follows: Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setiger, Themada anathera, Panicum maximum and Setaria sphacelata. Irrespective of farmers categories, the highest grand total biomass (23.89 t/ha) was observed in agrisilvihorticulture system (ASH) and lowest (16.03 t/ha) in agrisilviculture system (AS). Among all the category of farmers the maximum net returns (₹97,581.20/ha/yr) was reported from agrisilvihorticulture (ASH) and least (₹5,772.50/ha/yr) from silvipastoral system. Technological gaps identifying the socio-economic and other constraints have highlighted the inherent weakness of existing AFS types. The most prominent among these constraints includes occurrence of fragmented landholdings, communication gap between lab to land, ineffective implementation of government sponsored schemes for the benefits of farming communities. Relevant agroforestry solutions include conducting location specific diagnostic survey, strengthening of agro-processing facilities, voluntarily adoption of some villages by state agriculture universities and other related institutions etc. From the above study it was concluded that ASH system type was found to be the best for economic point of view and was proved more profitable by providing maximum B: C ratio (2.04).EnglishThesis