Use of Fertilizers and Manures in Forestry

The necssity and scope of using fertilizers and manures in forestry have been eluci-dated. Some of the work done on fertilizer application with different species in the forests and nurseries in India and abroad has been reviewed. The various problems such the method, dose, form, combination and time of application, type of soil and species to be treated, weed growth, mycorrhizal development, cultural practices and economics, etc., involved in forest fertilisation have been described briefly. In view of meagre available scientific data in Indian forestry the urgent need for conducting statistically designed fertilizer trials on different soils and with different species under varied climatic conditions to evolve suitable effective fertilizer schedules for different areas, where such an application is required has been suggested. It is emphasised that arbitrary application of fertllizers without assesing the deficiencies of the local soil should be avoided, as these could often lead to either wastage of the fertilizer or harm to the crop either due to overdoses or due to imbalance of the nutrients. Further, to keep up the initial acceleration in growth, it may be necessary to repeat fertilization at suitable intervals in the long life of a forest crop.