4.7 Horticulture

The important horticulture crops of the State are Coconut, Areca nut and Cashewnut.

Coconut: The area under coconut plantation is 0.279 Mha with an average yield of 5204 nuts per hectare. It grows extensively in the humid coastal tracts, though it is possible to grow it even at higher elevations of 600-900 m above the mean sea level in the equator. The coconut palm adapts well and thrives in almost all types of well-drained tropical soils, such as coastal sand, red loam, laterite, alluvial and the reclaimed soil of marshy lowland. In Karnataka it is extensively cultivated in the central and northern dry zones. It is mainly cultivated for nuts from which two important commercial products copra and fiber are obtained. Copra yields oil and oil cake. The trunk of the mature palm is used as timber for constructing houses and the plaited leaves are used for thatching houses, fencing etc. The coconut shell is largely used as fuel for copra kilns, limekilns or brick kilns. The coconut fiber known as coir is extracted by heating the husks, either fresh or after retting, with a mallet to separate the pith. For retting the husks are buried in shallow pits in low-lying areas subject to tidal flow of backwaters for about 6-12 months. It is then dried and spun into coir yarn. The coir yarn is used in making ropes, mats, nets, bags etc. Shell charcoal is prepared by burning the shells in limited supply of air. The average output has been found to be 35 kg charcoal from 1000 shells. Coconut shell on destructive distillation yields not only gas and charcoal but also other chemicals like acetic acid, wood spirit, phenol, cresote etc. The charcoal is used in the mass production of activated carbon, which besides being used as gas masks also finds use in the refining of vegetable oils and to decolourize sugars. The calorific value of pith, shell and shell charcoal are about 4132, 4794 and 7222 kcal/kg respectively (Vimal and Tyagi, 1984). The slurry of different percentages of pith/cellulose is used along with cowdung to produce biogas. Partial removal of lignin from pith increases the rate of biogas generation. The fuel biomass of coconut palm is leaves (12/tree/year), inflorescence (12-15/tree/year), shells (100/tree/year), husk (100/tree/year) and leaf sheath (Ramachandra et al, 2000). The shell flour is also used as filler in plastics.

Arecanut: It is a tall-stemmed erect palm, reaching varied heights depending on environmental conditions. It can be grown up to 1000 m above sea level. Arecanut is cultivated in about 0.78 lakh hectares with an average production of 5.48 lakh tonnes. It is extensively cultivated in the southern transition one, hilly zone and the coastal zone. The fuel biomass of arecanut palm is leaves (6-7/tree/year), inflorescence (4-5/tree/year), and husk and leaf sheath. The husk constitutes about 60-80% of the total weight and volume of the fresh fruit. The husk fiber is composed of cellulose with varying proportions of hemicellulose (35-64.8%), lignin (13.0-26.0%), pectin and protopectin. Properly composted husk could be also used as good manure. It consists of 1.0-1.1% nitrogen, 0.4-0.5% potassium pentoxide and 1.0-1.5% of potassium oxide. The length of the leaf sheath is about 78-85 cm, and 35-40 cm wide at the center and 15-20 cm at the stalk end. Cellulose (43%), crude fiber (33%) and ash (5%) are its main constituents. Fresh leaves contain about 55-60% moisture. The leaves are used for thatching and also as mulch in areca gardens.

A study by Madhulika Sinha and Malati Hegde (1987) reveals that Coconut and Arecanut leaves are used for mulching, fuel and thatching purposes. The upper tender portion of the leaves (66%) is used as thatch, while the down rachis portion (33%) is used for mulching and burning.

Cashew: Cashew ( Anacardium occidentale L.) is grown both for its fruit as well as for its nuts. The area under cashew plantation in Karnataka is about 0.048 Mha with an average yield of 578 kg/ha. About 47,390 ha of cashew plantation is raised in the Coastal zone (zone10).

4.8 Livestock

Livestock constitutes an important component of the farmer's economy. Most of the marginal farms are dependent on livestock to a greater extent of or their day-to-day livelihood. The system of agriculture and animal husbandry are highly integrated and interdependent. Dung is preferred to other bioresource owing to its availability within the household premises (in case of cattle-owning households), year round availability, easy storage for the rainy season and production of slow and continuous heat when burnt.

The extent of dung produced varies with age, breed and feeding habits of the animal. Many estimates used in the past were based on high yields obtained from animals with higher feeding levels (ABE 1985). Dung yield is not uniform, but subject to variation with feeding levels, which are variable with seasons. For instance, during rainy season, the dung yields are higher than that of summer, owing to increased accessibility to grass. In India, the dung is either collected as dry cakes or mixed with straw or chaff, moulded by hand into cakes, and sun dried before use. At the beginning of 70s the most widely accepted estimate of annual use was about 70 million tonnes of dried dung, equivalent to less than 30 million tonnes of coal replacement, and accounting for about 15% of all biomass fuels for between one-fifth and one-quarter of total dung production (Henderson, 1975). The solid content of dung is about 18% (82% moisture) and if 10% moisture is assumed, the dung cake potential on an annual basis is 123 Mt of air-dry weight (Ravindranath & Hall, 1995).

Karnataka has a total cattle population of 10.80 million, buffalo population of 4.4 million, goat population of 4.9 million and a sheep population of 8.0 million and thus have immense biogas potential. Dried dung has energy content anywhere between 8.5-14 MJ/kg (Hall, 1987).

4.9 Land Use pattern

The very purpose of land use classification is to get an idea of the extent the land has been put into different use (forest, agriculture, horticulture, built up, open area, etc.). Knowledge of land use helps in maximization of productivity and conservation of land. Physical factors and human activity influences land use pattern. The physical factors include topography, climate and soils which set limits on the pattern of land use, while the human factors are density, occupation of people, extent of technological development and socio-economic factors. In the international system of classification, nine major land use classes are recognized (ICAR, 1980). They are settlement and associated non-agricultural land, horticulture, trees and permanent crops, cropland, improved permanent pastures, improved grazing lands, woodlands, swamps and marshes, and unproductive land. Broadly, all these nine different classes of land can be brought under two main classes- arable and non-arable. The net area sown, current and other fallows, groves and orchards can be grouped under the arable class, while the land put to non-agricultural use, forest, barren and uncultivated land can be combined to form the non-arable type. Net area sown denotes the geographical extent of cultivated or sown land during a particular year. The total acreage under different crops in a particular area is obtained by adding the net cropped area to the area sown more than once. The land put to non-agricultural uses represents the land occupied by buildings, roads, railway tracks, factories, water bodies etc and other land put to other uses apart from agriculture. Non-agricultural land is also an index of development in an area. Current fallows are lands which are not under crops at the time of reporting but which had been sown in the recent years. The need for leaving the land fallow arises when the soil becomes less fertile. Barren and uncultivated land includes all lands that are practically useless or unproductive and unfit for cultivation. Other fallow land includes land that is arable but owning to the inherent infertility of the soil and other limited factors, it cannot be cultivated continuously. Such lands become temporarily out of cultivation for a period of not less than one year and not more than five years. Permanent pastures cover all grazing lands whether they are permanent pastures or not. But, increasing population has greatly reduced the extent of such lands.

Karnataka has a geographical area of 19,049836 ha. About 3,062,769 ha of land is under forests (16.07%). The barren and non-agricultural land account for 10.99% of the total land. Other uncultivable land including cultivable waste and permanent pastures account for 9.10% of the total land. 8.76% of the total land comes under the fallow land. 55.06% of the total area comes under the net cropped area, while 9.56% of the land is sown more than once. The total cropped area is 64.62%. Land utilization across the agroclimatic zones are shown in Annexure 3.

4.10 Forests

History: The present forests of Karnataka State belong to the forests of Coimbatore, Coorg, North Canara (formerly in Bombay State) and the princely State of Mysore. There was no forest administration and management prior to 1864. The first Conservator of forest was appointed in 1864 and it was then that the felling of immature trees was prohibited and felling rules were prescribed. In 1867, three Forest divisions were created. These were Ashtagram, Nuggar and Nandhidurg. Initially forests were looked upon as the main source of State income and therefore forest management was mainly based on a reservation policy of consolidation. Some forest blocks were protected from fires, grazing etc. There were common lands too, occupying nearly twice the area of these forests. These areas were to meet the local needs of people. In the fifties, much emphasis was laid on developmental activities, which took a heavy toll on the forest wealth of the State. Forestry as a land use was not recognized till 1974, when the Karnataka Forest Act was amended. In 1976, the Tree preservation Act was enforced to protect trees in the private lands. In 1987, a total ban was imposed on the felling of trees in wet evergreen forests. 1991 onwards, extraction of timber was limited to removal of dead and felled trees only.

Presently about 20% of Karnataka's lands are under the forest department and in that only 11% is wooded. The forests in the State are managed as divisions by the forest department. There are 36 forest divisions in the State. The notified forests are managed as Reserve forests, Village forests, Protected forests, Private forests and Deemed forests.

•  Reserve forests: They are those forest areas, which are as per section 2 (14) of the Karnataka Forest Act. It means land notified in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2 of Karnataka Forest Act 1963. The increasing population has stressed these lands by increased illicit felling to meet the demands of fuel, timber and the needs of the industries. This has had a direct impact on the rural population, which is heavily dependent on these forests.

•  Village forests: As per section 2 of Karnataka Forest Act 1963, Village forest means any land notified as such in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3 section29 of the Karnataka Forest Act.

•  Protected forests: As per section 2(13) in the Karnataka Forest Act 1963 protected forests means any area at the disposal of the government which has been placed under special protection under clause 2, sub section 2, of section 33 are declared to be protected forests under section 35.

•  Private forests: As per section 36 and 39 of Karnataka Forest Act 1963 any land notified by the State Government under this section for the protection of forests for special purposes is a private forest.

•  The 'C' and 'D' class lands, which are mostly barren and transferred from the revenue department, constitute the Un-classed area.

The area of the forests of the State by legal status is as given in the table 14.

Table 14: Area of Different Forests in Karnataka

(KFD Annual Report, 2001)

Of the above forest area nearly 75% of the area suffers from an absence of regeneration. The areas that have been cleared and diverted for non-forestry purposes, since 1980 to 1996 are given in table 15.

Table 15: Areas Cleared and Diverted for Non-forestry Purposes

(KFD, 2001)

Physiography and climate control the natural vegetation of the State. Most of the forests in Karnataka are situated in the belt running from Belgaum and ending at Mysore. Ecologically identified five types of forests are:

•  Tropical Dense evergreen forests: These forests are found in areas having annual rainfall of above 100 inches. The forest cover is very dense with luxuriant growth and a high biodiversity. The dense canopy is storied and often impenetrable. The important tree species of this forest type are Dipterocarpus , Hopea , Mangifera , Artocarpus , Eugenia and to some extent Leguminosae . Areas coming under this type of forests are from the districts of Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan and Kodagu. The soil types of these forests are mostly laterite but alluvial along the river plains.

•  Tropical Semi-evergreen forests: These forests are in between the tropical evergreen forests and the moist deciduous forests and occur in regions receiving an annual rainfall of 80-100 inches. They are formed by the degradation of the easily fragile evergreen forests. Even felling of selective trees opens up the canopy and alters the temperature and humidity of the region, paving way for the semi evergreen type of vegetation. The species composition is large, though tall trees are absent. The under growth is sufficient with a large number of climbers. Bamboo and epiphytes including numerous species of ferns are also present. The common tree species of this region are Xylia and Terminalis though Dipterocarpus, Balanocarpus and Hopea occur frequently. The evergreen shrub species of Rubiaceae and Acanthaceae form the ground layer. This kind of vegetation regenerates without much difficulty.

•  Moist deciduous forests: These forests are composed of high forest tree species with a height ranging from 100-120 ft, or more forming close canopies. These forests as a rule are mixed and have semi-deciduous species in the upper canopy with evergreen in the lower canopy. The under growth has bamboo and canes on the wet ground. In shady places epiphytes are present on trees. The number and size of the climbers is also large. In the characteristic patches of moist deciduous patches, the dominant trees become leafless during March and April, though undergrowth species are evergreen. Before the onset of monsoon, most of the trees come into leaf. The vegetation of the Deccan plateau is mostly of the deciduous type. On the leeward side of the Ghats, the vegetation is of the climax moist deciduous type having a brief leaf fall, a non-stratified under-storey of shrubs and climbers as well as a number of epiphytes, mostly orchids. These forest species are composed of high forest tree species with a height ranging from 100-120 ft or more forming close canopies. Bamboo and cane are also found. The number and size of the climbers is very large. The important species of these forests are Dalbergia , Cedrala toona , Terminalia tomentosa and Pongamia glabra . These forests are of economic importance. But the pressure of grazing and collection of firewood subject them to damage. (Saldanha, 1984)

• Dry deciduous forests: The bioclimate of the eastern part of the Maidan favours the dry deciduous vegetation in several protected areas. The canopy of these forests is open. Anogeissus latifolia is the commonest tree species of this forest type. Boswellia serrata, Cochlospermum religiosum , Gardenia latifolia, Gyrocarpus americanus , shorea roxburghii and Zizyphus xylocarpus are some of the commonest species of this region.

• Miscellaneous forests: The thorn and scrub type forests are found in several parts of Chitradurga, Bellary, Raichur, Gulbarga and Bidar districts. Some of the remaining patches are made up of Acacia , Albizia and Hardwickia . Dry vegetation is a characteristic of the eastern districts of the State on the Deccan plateau. However the demand for fuel and fodder has reduced most areas to scrub and thicket formations. Canthium parriflorum , Cassia auriculata , Dodonea viscosa , Erythroxylum monogynum , Pterolobium hexapetalum and Euphorbia antiquorum are some of the prevalent species. The taluk wise forest area across the agro climatic zones is given in the annexure.

The State of Forest Report (1999) has reported an increase in the forest cover since 1997 in Bangalore, Gulbarga, Hassan, Mandya, Mysore and Tumkur districts. This has become possible because of the plantation efforts and protection of the degraded forest areas. Plantations of Acacia auriculiformis and Eucalyptus species in Gulbarga district have mainly contributed in the increase of forest cover.

Decrease in forest plantation is observed in Shimoga, Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts. This is on account of extraction of the plantations of Eucalyptus species especially in Dharwad, Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts, clear felling of old rubber plantations in Kodagu district and clearing of forests in areas undergoing submergence in Dakshina Kannada district.

The total growing stock of Karnataka's forests is 272 million cubic metres. The average volume per ha is 84 cum, which is 10 cum more than the national average. The estimated increment of the forest produce in Karnataka is 5.5 cum, and the productivity is 1.45 cum/ha/year for the whole area. For wooded area the productivity is 1.72 cum/ha/year. The national average of productivity is 1.37 cum/ha/year (FSI, 1999).

The forests in the State are managed under divisions. There are 36 forest divisions, which are further grouped into 13 circles. Working plans are maintained for the efficient management of these forests. The prime objective of a working plan is the entire management of the forest area so that the objectives for which it is maintained may be realised as fully as possible. These working plans must provide an exact and detailed account of the actual state of the forest in all its component parts. They suggest treatments for the existing forests, for the degraded forest areas and plantations. The main issues dealt with are the thinning and extraction of plantations, salvaging the dead and fallen timber from firewood, protection of bio-diversity rich areas etc. The list of the districts along with the divisions and their constituent taluks are given in table 16.

. The main issues dealt with are the thinning and extraction of plantations, salvaging the dead and fallen timber from firewood, protection of bio-diversity rich areas etc. The list of the districts along with the divisions and their constituent taluks are given in table 16.

Table 16: Districts , Divisions , Taluks and Forest Area

(KFD, 2000)

Working plans were not available for few divisions. The forests covered in each of the divisions are described below.