Economics of energy plantations in alkali soils of Indian semi-arid regions

About 40% of the total barren salt affected soils of India (2·8 million ha) are confined to the Indo-Gangetic plains in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The principal constraint that reduces the productivity of such soils is soil salinity. Considering the scope for selected species on such degraded soils, very little research has been done. A field experiment was conducted under controlled conditions on seven fast growing selected plant species in 4·7 ha of salt affected community land at the village Dhanawas located in the Gurgaon district of Haryana. This paper attempts to: (i) identify suitable fast growing species capable of withstanding a high level of alkalinity, which will primarily be used for providing firewood and (ii) examine the economic feasibility of afforestation technology in these salt affected soils.