Introduction:

Agriculture is the backbone of our country.If we potentially utilized our waste land in proper & scientific way; we have to solve our poverty level & unemployment generation. The Social foresty mission is an economic and cultural resource and a source of social benefits to local communities supplying food, wood and medicine. It also offers environmental benefits providing habitats for animals and plants, regulating water resources, providing soil protection and moderating climatic conditions. There are also commercial opportunities based around forests such has eco-tourism, bio-prospecting and carbon trading.

Deforestation is a key environmental issue in world. Increased incidence of environment related problems due to deforestation have been observed in terms of loss of biodiversity, cultural integrity and carbon sinks, increased soil erosion, watershed degradation, and coral reef siltation and degradation

Eucalyptus belongs to the family Myrtaceae with about 300 species of the genus. The species is one of the fastest growing trees in the world and many species attain great heights. Eucalyptus amygdalin is the tallest known tree with specimens attaining a height of as much as 480 feet.

Basically, a native of Australia and Tasmania, Eucalyptus was introduced in India, by the British in 1843 in Nilgiri Hills as an experiment to find high yielding species for fuel and timber. It soon became a favoured species for the foresters/ commercial plantations, owing to its fast growth, non exacting, non- browseable and drought resistant nature and adaptability to a variety of agroclimatic conditions. 

Botanical Features :

Eucalyptus is a fast growing, medium- sized to tall tree attaining 20-50m in height and upto 2m in diameter. The tree has a deep tap root system with mycorrhizal associations which increases its ability to draw nutrients and water. The tree has a smooth silvery white stem. The leaves are leathery in texture, hang obliquely or vertically and are studded with glands containing aromatic oil. Flowering takes place during July-August. Flowers in bud are covered with a cup- like membrane (whence the name of the genus, derived from the Greek 'eucalyptos' meaning- 'well covered'), which is thrown off as a lid when the flower expands. The fruiting occurs during September - October. The fruits are surrounded by a woody, cup-shaped receptacles and contain numerous minute seeds. 

Silvicultural Characteristics :

Eucalyptus is versatile, fast growing and strongly coppicing tree possessing a wide range of soil and climatic adaptability. E.tereticornis has the most extensive latitude range (9-38⁰S) of any species in the genus. Basically a light demander, the growth of the species is very much reduced under shade. Eucalyptus is known for its drought hardiness, although annual rainfall of 800 mm is preferred. The species is also moderately salt tolerant and relatively fire resistant. Eucalyptus is generally regarded as frost sensitive, though in Uruguay, E. tereticornis has known to come up with reasonable success in regions where unseasonal frost is likely to occur. The species is known to suffer cholrosis and die-back due to the reduced iron absorption in alkaline soils.

 The species grows under a wide range of climatic/soil conditions from warm to hot, sub humid to humid and from good to degraded soils. The range of agro-climatic conditions of the species ( E. tereticornis) is given as under:

Climate  required for Eucalyptus    :

• Altitude range : 0 - 1000 m above sea level.
• Mean annual rainfall : 500 - 3000 mm
• Rainfall regime : summer, winter, bimodial: uniform
• Dry season duration : 0 - 8 months
• Mean annual temperature : 10 - 27 ⁰C
• Mean maximum temperature of hottest month : 22 - 42 ⁰C
• Mean maximum temperature of coldest month : -2 - 19 ⁰C
• Absolute minimum temperature : > -8⁰ C ( data for upper limit NA)

Soil and Physiography

• Soil texture : light, medium, heavy
• Soil drainage : Free, seasonally waterlogged
• Soil reaction : acidic, neutral
• Special soil tolerances : saline
• Soil types : alluvial soils, gravely soils, ferral soils, red soils, sandy soils

Nursery practices:

Eucalyptus can be easily propagated from seeds, as well as, through vegetative propagation by cuttings (clonal propagation). On an average, there are about 642,000 viable seeds per kilogram of seed and chaff mix. Dry seeds at 5-8% moisture content, can be stored in air tight containers under refrigerated conditions (3-5 ⁰C) for more than 10 years without losing its viability.

 Under nursery conditions, seeds are sown on raised beds under shade. Addition of mycorrhiza innoculum to the nursery soils by adding soil from natural eucalyptus forest is highly beneficial for establishment and growth of the plants. No pre-sowing treatment is required. Rapid and complete germination is achieved under moist, warm (25 - 35 ⁰C) conditions in presence of light. Seedlings are pricked out and transferred to polybags at the second leaf -pair stage i.e. about 6 weeks from sowing. Seedlings are planted out in the field when they reach a height of about 25 cm i.e. about 3-5 months after sowing. This should coincide with the onset of monsoon season.

 Plants at nursery stage are highly susceptible to damping off and other fungal diseases, which can be limited by strict attention to hygiene, reducing watering and shade and allowing good ventilation.

Cultivation practices

Eucalyptus, generally raised for industrial plantations - mainly pulpwood, firewood or poles, are maintained with a shorter rotation of 5-7 years. For commercial plantations, intensive site preparation by ploughing or deep ripping on compact sites, is beneficial. On wet sites moulding should be adopted to improve root aeration and provide well-drained condition that facilitate planting. Spacing adopted is 2m x 2m in commercial plantation. In case, crops are cultivated between the rows (agroforestry), wider spacing of 4m x 2m ; 6m x 1.5m or 8m x 1m are recommended. Nursery raised seedlings/plantlets in polybags may be planted at the onset of monsoons, in pits of 45 cm x 45 cm x45 cm. Organic manure mixtures along with fertilizers containing 100g of NPK (4:4:2). Protective irrigation is essential, in case of monsoon failure, in the first two years of plantation. Eucalyptus is intolerant to shade and does not compete well with grasses for water and nutrients, thus 2-3 hand weeding and soil working in the initial stages are essential.

Owing to its fast growth, Eucalyptus is a heavy feeder and requires supplements in form of organic and chemical fertilizers in successive years. Deficiency of Nitrogen in soils is a limiting factor for growth and can reduce the yield by 60%. For maintaining the soil fertility, it is advisable to raise Eucalyptus trees with legumes as an intercrop.

  Harvesting is done by clear felling the stand in 6-7 year. Once the tree is felled, the stump throws many coppice shoots. These should be singled out to keep only one vigorous stem per stump, which will form the second crop. It is advisable to change the planting stock after the second harvest, as there is loss in vigour in coppice from the third coppice onwards.

Pest and diseases:

 One of the most serious diseases of E. tereticornis is canker caused by fungus, Corticium salmonicolour known as pink disease. Other fungal pathogens known to cause damage include, Ganaderma lucidium, Endothia gyrosa and Cylindrocladium spp. Cylindrocladium clavatum has been recorded to cause seed rot, seedling blight and seedling wilt of E. tereticornis in Punjab. Other potentially serious diseases are web blight (Rhizoctonia solani) in the nursery and stem canker caused by Cryphonectria and Cytospora eucalyptiocola which can cause heavy mortality.

 Among insects, ceranbycis beetle, Celstems scabrator is reported to attack young plants in plantations. Subterranean termites are reported to damage seedlings and young plants of the species.

Commercial uses of Eucalyptu

·         Eucalyptus is one of the fastest growing trees and is an excellent timber for paper and pulp, particleboard and hardboard industries.

·         It is also an excellent source of fuelwood and charcoal.

·         Eucalyptus wood is also used for light and heavy construction, railway sleepers, bridges, piles, poles and mining timber.

·         Indian Standards are available for use of E. tereticornis timber, after treatment, for door frames, window shutters, furniture, cabinet, tool handles, packing cases and crates.

·         Leaf extracts of the species have pesticidal properties and can be promoted as a biopesticide.

·         The leaves of the species are rich in essential oils, that have many medicinal uses. Eucalyptus globulus can be raised commercially for Eucalyptus oil.

·         E. tereticornis is a major source of pollen in apiculture and produces a medium amber honey of distinctive flavour.

·         The wood and bark of the tree have a tannin content of 6-12% and 3-15% respectively, though not used as a commercial source of tannin.

·         Eucalyptus is a large ornamental tree suitable for parks and avenue plantations.

·         The tree may be used as an agro-forestry species. Eucalyptus in combination with pineapple have given excellent results in China.

The tree species can be effectively used for regeneration of denuded lands and prevention of soil erosions in drought -affected areas.

Unit cost and Economics :

Unit cost for raising Eucalyptus under high density plantations (2m x 2m) has been worked out to - Rs. 140/- per plant. Considering harvesting at the age of 7 years, with a sale price of Rs. 2.5/kg wood total yield 300 kg per plant so, per plant sale price 750.Total 1000 plants per acre. After 7 years 6,10,000 revenue earn per acre. The details of techno-economic parameters and economics are furnished below. The investment has been found to be technically feasible, financially viable and bankable. 

For more infomation contact  ACI AGRO SOLUTION Mr Pradip  Sarma
Mob no- 07597920642,