Gliricidia sepium seed production under indigenous lopping and planting systems in a seasonally dry area of Bali, Indonesia

Gliricidia sepium (gliricidia) is a versatile, fast growing tree favored by farmers as a living fence, fuel, fodder, green manure, shade, support for crops, and for soil conservation (FACT Net 1998). It is easily propagated by either cuttings or seeds. There is a high international demand for gliricidia seeds, making "quality seed" another potential product for farmers who utilize this species. In Bali, Indonesia, gliricidia is commonly intergrated with foos and pasture crops in the three-strata forage system (TSFS), where it has increased the productivity of dryland farming system in the Bukit peninsula (Nitis et al.1989). Generally, Bukti farmers intergrate gliricidia into their farms using four indigenous planting systems: fence, alley, cluster, or guardrow. In 1995, the TSFS Team at the Udayana University in Bali established a demonstration trial to evaluate these systems for seed production. Support for the study has been received from the Oxford Forestry Institute, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Center for Research in Agroforestry, and Winrock International.

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