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S. Kondas

Abstract

Forestry tradition had not been particularly strong in agriculturally oriented India. The issues of chronic scarcity of fuelwood and fodder and the necessity of raising village plantations were raised from time to time late 19th and early 20th centuries. Consequent to the National Forest Policy of 1952 emphasizing the necessity of a third of the land area remaining under forests a concerted move was made in the sixties to expand tree lands outside State forests. Although some beginning was made large scale programmes with the support of foreign aid agencies were launched in the eighties only. The criticism and constraints in the implementation are analysed. Considering the magnitude and complexity of the Programme it is obvious that further implementation will hinge heavily on the good organizational infrastructure namely the Panchayats, Cooperatives and village school developed during the passage of six Five Year Plans. The huge unmet demand for fuelwood and fodder will place a premium on the price of wood for many years to come and this should sustain the tempo of the Programme. In the context of Social Forestry, wastelands and marginal lands of problems and low productivity are often thought of. In addition to these lands, agricultural lands aggregating 143 m ha (43.5% of total land area) particulary the underutilized irrigated lands of 68 m ha should be seriously thought of for gainful social forestry.

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M. Rathinam , C. Surendran , S. Kondas

Abstract

Biometrical studies were made in a plantation of Eucalyptus tereticornis in 1976 on seven tree traits namely, total height, merchantable height, girth at breast height, girth at stump level, bark thickness at stump level, weight of green billets after debarking and weight of green bark. Statistical evaluation involving correlation coefficients and path coefficient analysis has Ijrought out the individual influence of the tree traits on the biomass production. The girth at breast height can be taken as a selection index in Eucalyptus tree breeding.

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S. Kondas

Abstract

The two most important bamboos of India are Dendrocaldmus strictus and Bambusa arundinacea. Management of bamboo plantations presupposes a good knowledge of rhizome and culm biology. Both the above species are pachymorph type. Their culm growth and development depend upon rhizome size and position. There appears to be a growth periodicity consisting of a growth phase lasting 150-180 day, which commences with the rains in June-July-August and a biological consolidation phase for the remaining six months. This cycle goes on repeating. Though both the bamboos record sporadic flwering almost every year, they seed profusely in drier situations. In moist situations, it is not uncommon that seeding does not necessarilly follow flowering. Observations on Bambusa arundinacea show that it can be succesfully selfed and the seeds are fertile. An attempt is made to project the yield on the assumption that in a stabilised clump the culm potential varies from one to two for each of the current rhizomes which average at 1.5. A hectare may contain a growing stock of 4000 to 5000 culms (250 to 300 clumps) and provide an annual cut of 750 to 1000 culms on a three year felling cycle. There are several phenotypes available in nature with regard to stature, branchiness, hollowness of culm, etc and the possibility of selecting useful types is strong as both the species are sub-continental in distribution. The problems of cultivation relate to moisture conservation, plant protection and continuous tendirg. The avenues of research relate to seed viabilty, polymorphism, rhizome biology and cloning by tissue culture.

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P. S. Rao , Kuldip Bhatia , S. Kondas , B. Jagannatha Shetty

Abstract

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