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Table 3. Salt tolerance of various pasture species of the Thar desert. (Source: Progress in Arid Zone Research (1952-87), CAZRI, Jodhpur).
Highly salt tolerant (>16 mmhos EC) Tolerant (8-16 mmhos EC) Semi-tolerant (4-8 mmhos EC) Sensitive (<4 mmhos EC)
Sporobolus marginatus Cenchrus setigerus Heteropogon contortus Dichanthium annulatum
Eleusine compressa Aristida spp. Eremopogon foveolatus Sehima nervosum Zizyphus nummularia Eragrostis spp. j ■" :]
Discovery of new high yieldingpasture grass varieties in the Thar desert
1. Cenchrus ciliaris (‘Marwar Anjan’), (CAZRI-75): It is a selection from an entry in
the germplasm received from Australia. In August 1985 CAZRI released this vari-
ety for cultivation in the arid and semi-arid parts of India. Marwar Anjan is a tall,
thick stemmed, erect and drought hardy perennial. Its leaves are broad, long,
droopy and remain green up to maturity. It has a wide adaptability, high tillering
ability and is good in regeneration. It possesses a stout root/rhizome system. It
gives 2 to 3 cuttings per year. It yields 70 quintals of green fodder and 30 quintals
of dry matter per hectare under desert conditions. It has 8% protein and about 60%
digestibility. It produces 1 to 1.5 quintal/ha seed even after one cutting of fodder. It
is persistent and aggressive variety for rangelands and remains productive for four
to fíve years under proper management systems. It is sown at the onset of the mon-
soon with the seed rate of 5 to 6 kg/ha (Anonymous 1988).
2. Cenchrus setigerus (‘Marwar Dhaman’), (CAZRI-175): It is a selection from exotic
material and well adopted in the arid and semi-arid regions of India. ‘Marwar
Dhaman’ is excellent for grazing purpose due to its thin stem and leaíy foliage. It is
a drought hardy perennial grass which forms clumps at the base. It is an early ma-
turing variety, flowers between 45 to 55 days, high in tillering, with good regenera-
tion abilities and capable of giving 2 to 3 cuts per year under rainfed conditions. It
provides an average yield of 40 quintal/hectare green fodder and 5 quintal/hectare
dry matter in desertic regions, whereas in semi-desertic areas, the yield becomes
doubled. It contains 9.5% crude protein and has 65% digestibility at half bloom
stage. Its pasture remains productive for 4 to 5 years. It is moderately resistant to
major insectpests. (Anonymous 1988).
The use of these improved grasses for reseeding the depleted ‘orans’ or ‘village
grazing lands’ (gochars) assume significance for meeting the grazing needs of desert
livestock.
Silvipasture development in the Thar desert: a traditional practice
Growing trees and grasses together has been a traditional practice in the Thar desert. It
is being revived on large scale for rangeland development. Among nine tree species
tried, Acacia tortilis showed survival of 98% followed by Dichanthium nutans (88%),
Acacia senegal (83%) and Acacia indica (65%), whereas Prosopis cineraria and Al-
bizzia lebbeck showed onlv 5 to 10% survival. Hardwickia binata, Colophospermum