Babassu palm in the agroforestry systems in Brazil's mid-north region

Reference Type Journal Article
Year of Publication
1985
Contributors Author: P. H. May
Author: Anthony B. Anderson
Author: J. M. F. Frazão
Author: M. J. Balick
Journal
Agroforestry Systems
Volume
3
Issue
3
Pagination
275-295
Date Published
09/1985
Language
English
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Abstract
Babassu palms (Orbignya spp.) cover nearly 200,000 km2 in Brazil, providing cash income, fuel, fibre, edible oil and food to a large number of tenant farm households. Babassu is closely integrated within pastoral and shifting cultivation systems of Mid-North Brazil. In pastures, babassu provides shade for cattle, aids soil moisture retention, produces organic matter, generates supplementary farm income at little cost, and offers year-round employment. On the other hand, the persistence of juvenile palms reduces pasture grass productivity due to plant competition, and therefore there is a trend to eradicate babassu through clearcutting and understorey suppression. At moderate densities of less than 100 individuals per ha, mature babassu palms in cropland do not appear to harm crop productivity. In such cases, palms are thinned and leaves of the remaining ones are cut back, supplying fuel for the burn and nutrients to the soil. However, reduced fallow cycles due to pasture conversion threaten babassu as well as crop productivity.
URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00046960
DOI
10.1007/BF00046960
Journal Abbreviation
Agroforest Syst
ISSN
0167-4366; 1572-9680