FROM the state of Gujarat comes one ofthe more recent examples of innovationin desert reclamation. A private industrial house (the Benzer group) has successfully reclaimed a large chunk ofsaline wasteland in Bhachau district ofKutch using halophytes, flora whichgrow in saline habitats.
,The word 'Indian desert' usuallyconjures up the much publicised imageof the Thar in Rajasthan. However, largeareas of Kutch and Saurashtra in theneighbouring state of Gujarat harbourequally and zones, like the Great and theLittle Rann of Kutch (rann in Gujaratimeans a desert). These diverse, xericenvirons with varying degrees of salinityand soil structure have given rise to amultitude of halophytic plants.Systematic cultivation of halophytes cannot only help green wastelands to a greatextent, but also provide us with food,fuel, fodder, fibre, resins, essential oilsand medicines.
The Benzer group has used theSalvadom species (locally known as pilu)for its reclamation exercise. Salvadomcan grow in highly saline wasteland aswell as along the coast. After theseedlings are two years old, the plant canbe irrigated with eight-nine degrees ofsaline water.
In terms of halophytic vegetation,Kutch and Saurashtra together harbourgreater biodiversity than Rajasthan.Only a single species of a halophyte, theSuaeda fruticosa, has been reportedfrom Rajasthan, whereas three species ofthe Suaeda -the Sfruticosa, S nudifloraand S maritima - are found inSaurashtra and Kutch. These arc locallycalled Iuno and morus and are used asfood, fodder and medicine.
In Gujarat, large areas suffer from soil salinity and salt infiltration into groundwater aquifers. While prime agricultural lands are being overexploi ted, large areas of saline wastelands and coastal belts remain unutilised. Under these circumstances, instead of using costly remedial measures to reclaim these wastelands, the local halophytic species which can grow in moderate to highly saline soils can be cultivated.
While the seeds of Sadvadoraoleodies (mitho pilu) are eatenby humans, birds and livestock,S persica (kharo pilu) holdsgreater commercial value; itsseeds contain 30-40 per cent nonedible oil which is used in soapsand detergent, its leaves are eatenby camels and its root bark hasmedicinal value. Urochondrasendosa arid Juncus maritim us canbe used as sources of fibre andpaper Pulp respectively. TheSuaeda maritinur can be used forfixing seashore sand dunes. Acreeper, the Citrullus colocynthis(Indravarna), which grows com-monly along the sandy coastlineof Gujarat, can be cultivated forits fruits which contain colocynth,a drug used as a cathartic.
Unfortunately, no comprehensive survey of the halophyticvegetation of Gujarat has been done. Afew isolated studies of the coastal halopbytic flora were conducted in the '60s.According to a floristic survey conducred by the botany department ofM S University, Baroda, in eastern andwestern Kutch in 1986, 12 plant specieswere listed as being endangered. However, the study failed to include the eco-logical and ethnobotanical aspects.Since then, the and habitats of Gujaratalong with their vegetation have undergone considerable change and with thecurrent wave of inclustrialisation sweeping over the state, these species areunder threat.
The economic and environmentalpotential of a large number of ourindigenous halophytic species remainundiscovered and untapped. While thegovernment is squandering moneyon importing expensive desalinationtechnologies from the Netherlandsand Israel, the most feasible solutionprobably exists in our backyards.