Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:07:16.548Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

CONSTRAINTS TO ADOPTION OF IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY FOR BERSEEM CLOVER (TRIFOLIUM ALEXANDRINUM) CULTIVATION IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2017

M. S. TUFAIL*
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, 2650, Australia
S. NIELSEN
Affiliation:
Quantitative Consulting Unit, Research Office, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678, Australia
A. SOUTHWELL
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia
G. L. KREBS
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia
J. W. PILTZ
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, 2650, Australia
M. R. NORTON
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, 2650, Australia
P. C. WYNN
Affiliation:
Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia
*
§Corresponding author. Email: shabi14L@yahoo.com

Summary

Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is an important forage legume and is the primary winter forage crop in Pakistan. There are significant gaps in yield potential among varieties of berseem clover, as well as yields obtained at research stations and on-farm. To address this problem a survey of farmers was undertaken in the districts of Kasur and Okara, Punjab, Pakistan to determine the level of knowledge and understanding of berseem forage cultivation and seed production. The study comprised 44% smallholder (<3 ha), 26% medium (3–5 ha) and 30% large farmers (>5 ha) with average age of 42 years. Most farmers had little or no knowledge of the role of seed quality, inoculation with rhizobium, pollination, fertiliser use, irrigation management and the importance of forage nutritional value in improving livestock productivity. Most farmers (56%) had received no input from the government or private sector to improve forage production, relying instead on traditional knowledge. Knowledge of the importance of land preparation (95%), sowing rate (98%) and insect and pest management (75%) was higher than seed selection and fertilisation. Adoption of improved varieties (3%) and production technologies (14%) was low due to various constraints including ignorance, high cost of inputs, lack of availability of inputs in the market and a perceived high level of financial risk. Almost 100% of the respondents agreed that seed of improved varieties was a pre-requisite for higher forage and seed production as well as essential to start village-based forage seed enterprises.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anwar, M. Z., Khan, M. A., Ikram, S., Akhtar, A., Shafique, Z. and Abdul, M. (2012). Small farmers perceptions regarding improved fodder and forage varieties: Results of participatory on farm research. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research 25:295306.Google Scholar
Cain, P., Anwar, M. and Rowlinson, P. (2007). Assessing the critical factors affecting the viability of small-scale dairy farms in the Punjab region of Pakistan to inform agricultural extension programmes. Agricultural Systems 94:320330.Google Scholar
David, S. (2004). Farmer seed enterprises: A sustainable approach to seed delivery? Agriculture and Human Values 21:387397.Google Scholar
Dost, M., Misri, B., El-Nahrawy, M., Khan, S. and Serkan, A. (2014). Egyptian Clover (Trifolium alexandrinum); King of Forage Crops. Cairo: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Farooq, O. (2015). Agriculture, economic survey of Pakistan. In Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Islamabad: Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.Google Scholar
Government of Punjab (2014). Improved forage varieties and their yield potentials [Online]. Ayub Agricultural Research Institute. Available: http://www.aari.punjab.gov.pk/institutes-sections/fodder-research-institute/fri-achievements.Google Scholar
Gul, H., Saeed, B., Khan, A. Z., Anwar, S., Nasrullah, , Robina, A. and Hussain, K. I. (2013). Forage yield of Berseem and Shaftal in response of late planting dates and methods in Peshawar valley. Comprehensive Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science 1 (1):14.Google Scholar
Iannucci, A. (2001). Effects of harvest management on growth dynamics, forage and seed yield in Berseem clover. European Journal of Agronomy 14:303314.Google Scholar
Iannucci, A. and Annicchiarico, P. (2011). Seed and forage yield of advanced generation synthetics of berseem clover derived from partly inbred parents under different harvesting regimes. Plant Breeding 130:694700.Google Scholar
Jan, B., Ali, A., Wahid, F., Shah, S. N. M., Khan, A. and Khan, F. (2014). Effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungal inoculation with compost on yield and phosphorous uptake of berseem in alkaline calcareous soil. American Journal of Plant Sciences 5:13591369.Google Scholar
Kassab, M. M., El-Saiad, I. A. and Ibraim, M. A. M. (2013). Impact of number of irrigations and amount of water applied on productivity and water use of Egyptian clover. Journal of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering 4 (5):441452.Google Scholar
Mehboob, I., Shakir, M. S. and Mehboob, A. (2011). Short communication: Surveying tubewell water suitability for irrigation in four tehsils of district Kasur. Soil and Environment, 30:155159.Google Scholar
Nakamanee, G., Srisomporn, W., Phengsavanh, P., Samson, J. and Stur, W. (2008). Sale of fresh forage – A new cash crop for smallholder farmers in Yasothon, Thailand. Tropical Grasslands 42 (2):6574.Google Scholar
Naveed, M., Mehboob, I., Shaker, M. A., Hussain, M. B. and Farooq, M. (2015). Biofertilizers in Pakistan: Initiatives and limitations. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 17:411420.Google Scholar
Nichols, P. G. H., Craig, A. D., Rogers, M. E., Albertsen, T. O., Miller, S. M., Mcclements, D. R., Hughes, S. J., D'antuono, M. F. and Dear, B. S. (2008). Production and persistence of annual pasture legumes at five saline sites in southern Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48:518535.Google Scholar
Oushy, H. (2008). Fact sheet: Berseem clover. Afghanistan water, agriculture, and technology transfer (AWATT) Program. College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, USA.Google Scholar
Phaikaew, C. and Stur, W. (1998). Forage seed production and seed supply systems in Southeast Asia. In Integrated Crop Livestock Production Systems and Fodder Trees, 117124. Thailand: Division of Animal Nutrition, Department of Livestock Development Bangkok.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2015). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R foundation for statistical computing.Google Scholar
Roy, S. K., Sharma, R. C. and Trehan, S. P. (2001). Integrated nutrient management by using farmyard manure and fertilizers in potato-sunflower–paddy rice rotation in the Punjab. The Journal of Agricultural Science 137: 271278.Google Scholar
Saeed, B., Gul, H., Wahab, S., Durrani, Y., Haleema, B., Ayub, M., Muhammad, A., Said, A. and Ahmad, I. (2011). Effect of phosphorus and potassium on seed production of Berseem. African Journal of Biotechnology 10:13769–13768.Google Scholar
Sardana, V. and Narwal, S. S. (2000). Influence of time of sowing and last cut for fodder on the fodder and seed yields of Egyptian clover. Journal of Agricultural Science 134:285291.Google Scholar
Satyapriya, Agrawal, R. K., Sharma, P., Singh, M. and Kumar, S. (2013). Knowledge level of fodder cultivating farmers about Berseem production technology. Range Management and Agroforestry, 34:7376.Google Scholar
Setimela, P. S., Monyo, E. and Banziger, M. (2004). Successful Community-Based Seed Production Strategies. Mexico: CIMMYT.Google Scholar
Singh, S. K., Dubey, S. K., Ali, M., Nigam, S. N., Srivastava, R. K., Saxena, K. B., Yadav, A. S. and Kumar, A. (2013). Development and promotion of an informal and formal seed system through farmer participatory seed production of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) in Uttar Pradesh, India. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 37:531549.Google Scholar
Srinivas, T., Bishaw, Z., Rizvi, J., Niane, A. A., Manan, A. R. and Amegbeto, K. (2010). ICARDA'S approach in seed delivery: Technical performance and sustainability of village-based seed enterprises in Afghanistan. Journal of New Seeds, 11:138163.Google Scholar
Ud-Din, S., Ullah, I., Khan, G. D., Ramzan, M., Ahmad, B. and Hameed, M. (2014). Sowing dates and irrigation schedule influenced on yiled and yield components of Berseem in district Peshawar. Journal of Natural Sciences Research 4:9195.Google Scholar
Ul-Allah, S., Khan, A. A., Burkert, A. and Wachendorf, M. (2014a). Socio-economic aspects of fodder production in urban and peri-urban areas of Faisalabad. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 51:493500.Google Scholar
Ul-Allah, S., Khan, A. A., Fricke, T., Buerkert, A. and Wachendorf, M. (2014b). Fertilizer and irrigation effects on forage protein and energy production under semi-arid conditions of Pakistan. Field Crops Research 159:6269.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Tufail et al supplementary material

Tufail et al supplementary material 1

Download Tufail et al supplementary material(File)
File 211.6 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Tufail et al supplementary material

Tufail et al supplementary material 2

Download Tufail et al supplementary material(Image)
Image 243.5 KB