Improved management of fruit trees in West African parklands

Abstract

West African agroforestry systems are changing because agricultural intensification and a changing climate put the tree component at risk. Since local fruit trees play an important role in human nutrition and income generation, this is critical for rural livelihoods. This special issue presents a range of papers devoted to local fruit trees and their potential to improve local livelihoods. The topics cover studies of regeneration, use of mycorrhiza, tree/crop interactions, pollination, variation in fruit quality and genetic variation in adaptability. It is shown that there are many possibilities to improve benefits from trees. Some are likely to have immediate effect on livelihoods, such as cultivation of shade-tolerant crops under trees or improved management of pollinators. Others will require long term efforts, such as using natural variability of trees in breeding programmes to improve adaptation, quality and yield. In any case, to maintain the benefit from trees in the long run it will be necessary to identify appropriate strategies for regeneration of species that are currently in decline.

Farmers’ Preferences for Conservation and Breeding Programs of Forestry Food Resources in Niger

“…The genetic inter-and intra-specific genetic diversity and quality of a seed and, in this case, the origin or source where it is collected are going to have an influence, first, on the adaptation of any new plants, and second, on the production and the results expected from using it [45,46]. In Africa, different breeding and domestication programs are being developed, for example for the adaptation of B. aegyptiaca [47]; the fruit production of Parkia biglobosa, Tamarindus indica, and Vitellaria paradoxa [48]; the production of A. digitata leaves and fruits [47][48][49][50][51]; or the production of Z. mauritiana . recognized provider of seeds, wherefore we can forecast similar behavior.…”

Systematic Approach to Agroforestry Policies and Practices in Asia

“…There are several collections of agroforestry research at the regional level. A Special Issue of the journal Agroforestry Systems published in 2012, entitled "Agroforestry Landscapes", presented nine articles focusing on fruit trees in West African parklands in the African dimension [24]. A Special Issue of the same journal published in 2018, entitled "Advances in European agroforestry", contained 23 papers based on AGFORWARD project results in the European dimension [25].…”