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.