The 1953 Plantations of Miscellaneous Species of Commercial Importance under the Five-Year Plan, Bahraich Forest Division, Uttar Pradesh

In addition to raising miscellaneous plantations over a 300 acre compact block in Naubana, mulberry has been raised over 115 acres under the Five-Year Plan and miscellaneous species over 300 acres under the normal working plan prescriptions in Bahraich Division during 1953, besides carrying out the second year tending operations in the 1952 plantations aggregating to over 1,000 acres. During the 1953 season, therefore, new plantations have been raised over 715 acres and, in addition, second year tending operations carried out over 1,000 acres. This note deals with the 300 acre miscellaneous plantations raised in 1953 in Naubana under the Five-Year Plan. A 300 acres rectangular plot, measuring 75 chains X 40 chains, was tractor ploughed in strips 8 feet wide alternating with 12-foot wide unploughed strips, during January and February 1953. The worked soil was allowed to bake in the hot sun during summer. A single line sowing of shisham, toon, bhurkul, semal, siris and Ailanthus was done in blocks a fortnight before the break of the monsoon. A barbed wire-cum-stockade fencing seven feet in height from the ground level was completed before starting the sowing. The germination, which was uniformly excellent all over the area completed by the first week of July, the first shower of good soaking rain having fallen on June 24, 1953. The timely soil working with tractors resulting in exposing the ischolar_mains of weeds and grasses well before the commencement of the summer reduced the incidence of weeds very appreciably. The tending operations started virtually with the germination of seed. These operations consisted of pulling out of the young weeds with ischolar_mains and spacing out of the congested seedlings of tree species in the last week of July followed by a soil working with khurpies and pharwas during a spell of rainless period in September and October. The response in the development of the seedlings is wonderful and no further weeding is necessary. The spacing out of the seedlings was again carried out for the third time in October, 1953. The total cost of raising this plantation at the end of the first growing season comes to RS.75 per acre.