One of the most significant linchpins of the socioeconomic and livelihood milieu for rural farmers around the world is agroforestry. Several agroforestry practices are being employed by farmers in Bangladesh’s northern region, with Choi Jhal (Piper chaba)-based agroforestry being one of the most prevalent. Numerous researches have been conducted in different regions of Bangladesh to determine the potential livelihood for farmers who engage in diversified agroforestry, but hardly any comprehensive research has been carried out considering the aforementioned system as one of the most sustainable practices. To address this knowledge void, the present research was conducted in the Chinai union of Rajarhat Upazila in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh, surveying 105 Piper chaba farmers to assess the impact of this existing agroforestry system on their livelihood predicament. A mixed-method approach, including secondary data review, questionnaire survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and direct observations, were used for data collection and triangulation. To evaluate livelihoods and the problem severity, the Livelihood Improvement Index (LII) and the Problem Facing Index (FPI) were utilized, respectively. The findings demonstrate that the most suitable tree for Piper chaba cultivation is the betel nut (74.3%), and the majority (64.8%) of farmers have 41 to 90 Piper chaba plants. By strengthening farmers’ constant availability of food, fruit, timber, fodder, and fuelwood, this agroforestry system has markedly increased the sustainability of their livelihoods. This practice is thought to boost farmers’ livelihood capitals, with natural capital improving the most, while social capitals improve the least. However, eight major problems have been identified that farmers face while growing the crop and these must be remedied if different livelihood capitals are to be vastly improved. This research gives a full insight into the current Piper chaba production scenario and livelihood dynamics of local farmers, allowing some bold propositions to be formulated for further upgrading of their subsistence.

Industrial activities have various effects on biodiversity, posing significant threats to forest ecosystems. The current study describes the species composition, taxonomic diversity, and stand structure at Bhawal Sal forest, Gazipur, Bangladesh, as they are affected by industrialization. To achieve the goal, 30 different categorized industries within the forest were considered sampling points and three distance gradient sites viz. Site-1=Adjacent to industries (0m), Site-2=160m distance and Site-3=320m distance from industries were designated as treatments. A total of 90 quadrate plots (10m×10m) were taken randomly, of which 30 plots were from each site. Through forest inventory, 46 species (24 trees, 8 shrubs, 5 climbers, and 9 saplings) were recorded from three sites. The study revealed that the stand density and basal area of mature trees (257 stems ha⁻¹ and 8.06±0.60m²·ha⁻¹) at Site-1 were significantly lower due to diverse industrial operations than other sites. Statistically, all the biodiversity indices of mature trees; ShannonWieners index (1.72), Simpsons index (0.82), Margalefs index (1.38), Pielous evenness Index (0.39) was found to be lower at proximity to industries. The lowest species richness (12) of all plants was recorded from Site-1. However, the diameter and height distributions of Site-1 comprised young (1020cm·dbh) to medium-sized (20.130cm·dbh) trees, while the medium to large sized (>30cm·dbh) trees was contained at Site-3 in this study. The population structure of tree species at Site-1 also showed a fluctuating curve. Overall, this study highlights that plant ecosystems and tree population structure have declined tremendously due to industrialization. Hence, the current research could be significant for developing the management framework for the disturbed deciduous forest.

An experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to assess the effect of weeding on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) cv. BINA mung- 4 during October 2011 to February 2012. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The trial comprised seven treatments namely, T1 = no weeding, T2 = one-stage weeding (Emergence-Flowering), T3 = one-stage weeding (Flowering-Pod setting), T4 = one-stage weeding (Pod setting- Maturity), T5 = two-stage weeding (Emergence-Flowering and Flowering-Pod setting), T6 = two-stage weeding (Flowering-Pod setting and Pod setting-Maturity) and T7 = three-stage weeding (Emergence-Flowering and Flowering-Pod setting and Pod setting-Maturity). The growth parameters such as relative growth rate (0.075 g g-1 day- 1) and net assimilation rate (0.075 g m-2day-1) showed the best performance with T2 at one-stage weeding condition (Emergence-Flowering). Three-stage weeding ensured the highest plant height (58.62 cm) as well as the highest number of branches (4.45) and leaves (10.34) plant-1. Dry weight plant-1 (12.38g) was highest from three stage weeding and the lowest from no weeding treatment. The highest number of pods (22.03) plant-1, the longest pod (5.95 cm), the highest number of seeds (17.07) pod-1 and the highest seed yield (1.38 t ha-1) were obtained from three-stage weeding (Emergence-Flowering and Flowering-Pod setting and Pod setting-Maturity) in mungbean. On the other hand, the lowest seed yield was obtained under no weeding condition. The highest seed yield resulted in higher biological yield (4.70 t ha-1) and the highest harvest index (37.15%) in three-stage weeding and the lowest from no weeding. Number of pods plant-1, length of pod, number of seeds pod-1 and 1000-seed weight showed highly significant positive correlations with seed yield. These parameters strongly influenced the growth, yield and yield contributing characters of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v11i1.18209 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 11(1): 53-60, 2013