**4. Factor affecting ginger production in agri-silviculture system**

**Temperature:** Ginger prefers the warm and humid climate with the temperature 22–28°C,at seedling stage and 25°C during rhizome enlarging stage [30] however, also adaptable to low temperature. Rising in temperature increase the germination but weakens the sprouting of the rhizome.

**Light:** Ginger comes under category of shade loving plants and grows well I low to medium light intensity. During germination stage it needs darkness while medium light at seedling stage and high light during growing stage [31].

**Water:** Ginger plant cannot withstand in water stress condition as the soil water availability directly affect the rhizome growth [32]. For optimum growth of the plant well drained soil with proper irrigation facility is suitable.

**Seed size:** The growth of seedling largely depends upon the seed size as higher the seed size increases the sprouting and grow vigorously. However too big seed size should always be avoided.

**Spacing:** Ginger is one of the best suited crops for intercropping due to its shade loving nature. It needs around 30–40% illumination through radiation for optimum growth of the plant and rhizome as well [17]. For intercropping 5 m x 3-4 m spacing is found best spacing for rhizome production in agroforestry system.

**Fertilizer:** During the whole life cycle ginger needs changing NPK proportion at its different stages [33] as in early stage it needs more K followed by N and P while later in stage K uptake is lesser and N and P uptake is more for its luxurious growth and higher rhizome yield. However, during its growth period ginger need NPK in proportion of 11:1:16.1.

Although ginger often gains attention for its potential to generate high profits for farmers, limited attention has been given to expanding production aspects for the betterment of smallholder farmers engaged in production and marketing activities. In the climate change era, ginger based agroforestry models can be a vital production system for environmental amelioration, realizing higher monetary returns and for sustaining the fertility of the soil. The study inferred that ginger yield, soil physicochemical and nutrient contents were higher when grown as intercrop sole cropping. Overall it can be concluded that there is tremendous potential for ginger cultivation to strengthen the agricultural sector by adopting suitable strategies. But this needs to happen scientifically at every stage from production to post harvest and processing stage. There is scope to widen markets in both domestic and international markets for this crop as well as its value additions.
