Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Regional Office Bahawalpur has developed five hectares as grassland at Dingarh Field Research Station as a model in Cholistan Punjab. According to a report of PCRWR, it was pointed out the area before cultivation of grasses was under small dunes.
The same was recovered and prepared for cultivation of different species of grasses. The texture of soil horizon in the area varies between coarse and fine textural classes.
According to report, the main grass species cultivated are (i) Lasiurus sindicus (gorkha); (ii) Cenchrus ciliarus (dhaman); (iii) Panicum antidotale (Murret), and (iv) Wild millet (Jangli Bajra).
According to report, more than 81 per cent area of Cholistan is under sand dunes and sandy soils. Mostly under ground water is saline. There is no canal or river flowing in this area, therefore the land is barren. The main land use of Cholistan is grazing of livestock. The pressure of grazing by livestock is much higher than the carrying capacity of the ranges. Due to fodder shortage, Cholistani people are forced to leave the area and migrate towards irrigated areas adjoining the desert.
This causes great damage to the agricultural crops due to uncontrolled livestock herds. If arrangements are made to provide fodder during dry periods, then the migration of local population along with their livestock could finish the burden on both communities ie desert dwellers and settlers of irrigated areas.
Although the underground water is saline and not suitable for human drinking, it can, however, be used to grow salt tolerant fodder grasses on non-saline and non-sodic coarse textured sandy soils due to rapid leaching of salts beyond the root zone.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources has planted Jojoba on three-hectare desert dune land at Dingarh Field Research Station in the Cholistan desert. The purpose of this study was to test its establishment in the desert condition under conjunctive use of rainwater and moderately saline water having EC= 4.6 dSm-1, SAR = 14, RSC = Nil and pH = 7.5, while rainwater quality is EC = 0.58 dSm-1.
About 100 plants are eight-year-old and have attained height about six feet. These plants are bearing fruit, while the plants on three hectares have been planted recently.
Jojoba is an ornamental and oil producing plant. Its botanical name is Simmondsia chinesis. It is known, as hohoba in the U S A. The native place of Jojoba is an American Snowrn desert. Jojoba has long been known as a valuable browse plant and has been widely planted as an ornamental. More recently it has received wide spread attention because the liquid wax produced by the seeds is a possible substitute for sperm whale oil. Jojoba oil has advantages over the similar product from sperm whale.
It possesses no fish odour and indeed has a mild pleasant odour. The crude oil contains no fats and little besides the liquid wax and required refining for use in most industrial processes; it has a very high viscosity index and very high flash and fire points, which are important industrial parameters.
Jojoba is a bushy tree and grows mostly between two and four-meter height and its roots may go as deep as 20 meters in the porous soils. The stature of the plant may go up to three meters. The natural life span is between one hundred and two hundred years.
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