Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sahel - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 197

technique gives a survival rate of about 70% on the farm (B. Kone, unpublished
results). However, Sanou et al . (2004) reported side-cleft grafting to be an easy
way of propagating this species. The recommended grafting period is in May in
the Sahel, which is the end of the dry season/onset of the rainy season. Grafting
on mature saplings in the field has produced successful results in Mali and is
recommended as a way of enriching the parklands. Propagation by stem
cuttings from hardwood, softwood and coppice shoots of mature trees can be
used with 80% success. In addition, apical shoots from seedlings can be
established and multiplied in vitro (Lovett and Haq, 2000).
Ziziphus mauritiana can be vegetatively propagated by budding and
grafting techniques, but attempts to propagate it by cuttings have not yet been
successful. Top-grafting is the most popular technique for propagating this
species in the Sahel because it is quick and easy (the success rate is up to 95%;
M. Doumbia, personal communication). For budding (Pareek, 2001), bud sticks
with well swollen and recently matured (but not open) buds should be collected
from juvenile shoots. In the Sahel, budding is carried out by the T (shield)
method. The best time for successful budding is during the active growth period
from June to September (the success rate is up to 85%; B. Kone, unpublished
results). Budding should be done as close as possible to the ground to minimize
the area for emergence of sprouts from the rootstock. Micrografting can also be
used (Danthu et al ., 2001); this allows the rapid multiplication of clones but is
very expensive and not readily available.
10.3.4 Fruit tree management
The management of indigenous fruits needs more investigation in the Sahel.
Information about nutrition and water management, pest and disease
management, tree training and pruning, and harvesting and postharvesting
techniques is limited.
10.4 Conclusion
Indigenous fruit-tee species are undoubtedly important for the rural poor in the
Sahel, but considerable work is needed to ensure that they contribute significantly
and in a sustainable manner to the livelihoods of the rural poor. This effort
requires working in a participatory manner with rural communities, research and
development institutes, non-governmental organizations and private enterprise.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr Harold Roy-Macauley and an anonymous reviewer for their
valuable comments on the manuscript. Mr Mamadou M. Sidibé and Doumbia
Modibo of the World Agroforestry Centre, Bamako made their unpublished results
available.