Project report for cultivation of Casuarina in irrigated condition and cultivation of Eucalyptus under rain fed condition.

Dear Friends,

A preliminary project report was prepared by me for a corporate farm last year for getting in-principle clearance from their H.O and from their Bankers. I have published that report here below with the belief that this will greatly help our fellow farmers in preparing reports for bankers with repayment schedule easily.

PROJECT REPORT FOR PULP WOOD PLANTATION

Objective:

To establish a pulp wood plantation in 500 acres in the farm lands of M/s.......... Ltd., with Eucalyptus hybrid clones and Casuarina Junghuhniana clones as main crops.

Introduction & Scope:
This report is prepared at the behest of Sri. ............, Regional Manager, ................ Ltd.,Tirunelveli by A.Vishnu Sankar, (Mob.........................), President of the Tirunelveli District Tree Growers Association and an approved contractor (Readers please note: I am not a contractor now) to undertake the Farm Forestry scheme of TNPL, Karur.

It is a welcome gesture from M/s................ Ltd., to utilize the vast tracts of cultivable drylands (rainfed farm lands) in their possession in Southern districts of Tamilnadu, to a productive cum profitable purpose with bare minimum investment.

As many farmers / corporate entities have now come to realize that the cultivation of horticulture crops in rain fed dry lands is unremunerative, most of them are turning to the most promising Agroforestry / Silviculture cultivation. Mostly, preference is given to ‘Fast Growing Trees of commercial importance’ in order to cut short the long gestation period a tree growing project normally involves.

In general the following fast growing timber trees are recommended for the plains of southern India:

1. Gmelina arborea (Kumil, Kumula maram in Tamil)

2. Melia dubia (Malai Vembu in Tamil)

3. Casuarina junghuhniana (Indonesian / Junguniana Savukku in Tamil)

4. Ailanthus excelsa (Perumaram, Pee maram, Peematti in Tamil)

5. Grewia tiliaefolia (Thadasu, Sadachi in Tamil)

6. Khaya senegalansis (Kaya or Senegal Mahogany in Tamil)

7. Albizia falcataria (Kattumaram in Tamil)

8. Pterocarpus santalinus (Red Sanders/ Sivappu Santhanam in Tamil)

9. Acacia auriculiformis (Pencil Tree in Tamil)

10. Anthocephalus cadamba (Vellai Kadambu in Tamil)

11. Eucalyptus - (Tamil: Thaila maram)

12. Bamboo (Varieties: Bambusa nutans, B. Bamboos, B. tulda, B. vulgaris, B. Balcooa)

Selection of appropriate Tree varieties:

Bearing in mind the factors such as our soil type, soil fertility, soil depth, MSL, rainfall, impossibility of providing supplementary irrigation, dry land tree cultivation in 100% rain fed condition, and above all the marketability of the wood , we can safely select only the following two varieties:

1) Casuarina junghuhniana clones
2) Eucalyptus clones.

For commercial cultivation of the above two tree species, good technical guidance, supply of high yielding clonal planting materials and buy back agreement with a reliable buyer are utmost necessity. ‘TNPL’ will naturally fit into that slot of reliable buyer with whom we can enter into a contract agreement for the cultivation of Casuarina junghuhniana clones and Eucalyptus clones under Farm Forestry scheme.

TAMIL NADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED:

Government of Tamil Nadu Enterprise) Kagithapuram – 639 136. Karur District
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) is a Government of Tamil Nadu Enterprise producing Newsprint and Printing & Writing paper at its Mill located at Kagithapuram in Karur District with an installed capacity of 2.45 lakh MT per annum. TNPL is producing different varieties paper of acceptable quality primarily from Bagasse and pulpwood and currently taking up the expansion of paper production capacity from 2.45 Lac MT to 4 Lac MT per annum. TNPL, therefore, requires continuous availability of about 4.5 Lac MT of pulpwood per annum. Against this backdrop, TNPL has embarked upon development of plantation in the year 2004-05 and launched a plantation scheme called Farm Forestry scheme.

FARM FORESTRY SCHEME:

Through this farm forestry scheme, the Company motivates and facilitates the farmers to take up pulpwood plantation. Under this scheme, dry land farmers in the State are encouraged to cultivate pulpwood trees. The salient features of the Scheme are:

1. Dry land farmers in the State are encouraged to cultivate pulpwood trees in their lands, which are currently barren.



2. TNPL provides high quality seedlings/clones to the farmers at concessional rates. (Rs.3.50 / Clone).



3. TNPL enters into an agreement with the farmers to buy the pulpwood at the prevailing market price at the time of harvest or at the minimum support price guaranteed at the time of entering into contract whichever is higher. (current price Rs.2000 / Ton).



4. TNPL provides assistance to the eligible farmers in obtaining bank finance. The principal amount together with interest is to be repaid after the harvest.



5. TNPL provides free technical assistance for planting and advisory services after planting of seedlings/clones in farmers' lands.



6. TNPL arranges harvesting and transport of pulpwood from the farmers' field to factory at company’s cost.

TNPL has established an area of about 50,000 acres under farm forestry scheme involving about 10000 farmers in 15 districts of Tamil Nadu within a span of five years and is committed to raise plantation in about 15000 acres every year to attain the target of 1,00,000 acres by the end of 2012.

The above plantation scheme is being implemented throughout Tamil Nadu through 10 regional offices providing advice and technical assistance to tree growers. The designated officer of TNPL for Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari District is Mr.Krishnasamy, Mob.94425 91418.

Casuarina:
All information relating to Casuarina cultivation, tips to increase yield, photographs of fields with Casuarina plantations, Clonal production centre of TNPL Etc., can be had from this blog: agrowmania.blogspot.com. Please click this 'Casuarina Link'.

Cultivation details can be also had from: http://www.fcrinaip.org/casuarina_cultivation.php

This crop requires supplementary irrigation in peak and prolonged summer that is difficult to provide by the promoters with the poor irrigation facility available at present in the field. Retaining moisture in the soil by providing flood irrigation at least once in a month is necessary for Casuarina cultivation. Though this crop is most suited for our soil, it is advisable to reduce the area under Casuarina, to eliminate risks.

So the given mandate of selecting tree crops for cultivation in 100% dryland should be altered to include this crop by providing irrigation facility.

The safest way is to go for drip irrigation system thereby we can increase the area with minimum water usage and to obtain a bountiful harvest. We can take up Casuarina cultivation in a minimum of 50 acres in the fields where water availability is adequate.

Cost of cultivation of Casuarina junghuhniana:

Please note that the cost figures and yield estimates are only symbolic and sketchy. The calculations may vary depending upon the fertility of the soil, spacing, dosage of fertilizer, irrigation schedule; proper and timely pruning and other related Good Agriculture Practices.

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  Please note that a small fraction of farmers are getting a yield of 70 Tons and above in an acre and the majority farmers are able to get only 40 Tons – 50 Tons from 31/2 to 4 years crop will explain many questions on the yield front. So a realistic,achievable target of (Average yield ) 55 tons / Acre was taken for the estimates.

'EUCALYPTUS' Cultivation:

This species is one of the fastest growing trees in the world, a favoured species for the commercial plantations companies owing to its:

● fast growth,
● greater vigour,
● drought resistant nature,
● insect resistant characters,
● adaptability to a variety of agroclimatic conditions,
● adaptability to varied soil conditions (from good to degraded soils).
● moderately salt tolerant,
● relatively fire resistant,
● strong coppice capability (Ratooning),

Details about introduction, cultivation and management of Eucalyptus can be had from this link: http://www.fcrinaip.org/eucalyptus_cultivation.php

YIELD:

The growing stock and yield in eucalyptus plantations varies considerably depending on the site, the climatic conditions and the inputs.

Eucalyptus clonal plantations perform better than seedling origin plantations. Apart from increase in productivity, the rotation period is reduced by half.

As per TNPL records, the average yield from the well managed private plantations of Eucalyptus clones is about 40 Tons/acre in 5 years.

YEAR WISE BREAKUP OF PROJECT COST FOR CASUARINA 50 ACRES AND EUCALYPTUS UNDER 450 ACRES :

CONCLUSION:
Any agricultural project involves some amount of risk in it, as agriculture is subjected to vagaries of monsoon which is not under the control of the farmer. To compound the matter further, unscientific approach by the farmer without proper understanding of soil health, wrong selection of crops and inadequate funding leads to ‘high-risk zone’ that is called AGRICULTURE.

But here, we have prepared a significant project, wherein importance has been given to solutions (to risks) and thereby eliminating risks in the planning stage itself. The main ideas conceived by us to make our project a grand success are summarized here below:

• Selecting drought tolerant tree varieties for drought prone area.
  


• Both the selected crops are some of the fastest growing trees in the world.



• Both the crops have adaptability to varied soil / agroclimatic conditions.
  


• No need for fencing the crop area as cattle do not graze these two crops.
  


• Possibility of theft is almost Nil when compared to Horticultural crops.
  


• Reducing the area under Casuarina to our irrigation capacity.
  


• Provision of drip irrigation system for Casuarina for higher yields.
  


• Selection of Hybrid clonal Casuarina jughuhniana variety for higher yields.
  


• Selection of Hybrid clonal Eucalyptus for higher yields.
  


• Procurement of high quality planting materials from TNPL at concessional rates.
  


• Planting coincides with the onset of North East monsoon, hence mortality of plants will be Nil and their establishment in the soil will be far better.
  


• It has been planned to provide sufficient plant spacing for efficient use of machines instead of manpower for deweeding.
  


• Marketing the harvested produce is made simpler by entering into ‘Contract agreement’ with the market leader - ‘TNPL’.
  


• Harvesting cost, Loading cost and Transportation of pulpwood from our lands to the TNPL’s factory at Kagithapuram, Karur will be borne by TNPL thereby saving not only our money but also our precious time and considerable energy.
  


• As Eucalyptus has coppice capability, the plantation can be retained for 18 years.



• We can get more income from the ratoon crops of Eucalyptus because of faster and more cycles and reduced expenditure in the ratoon stages.
  


• Free technical assistance for planting and advisory services after planting can be had from TNPL.
  


• TNPL and M/s Forest College and Research Institute, (FC & RI) Mettupalayam are Consortia partners in the NAIP-ICAR sponsored project. Hence we can avail free technical assistance from FC & RI also.
  


• We can arrange inspection of our fields by experienced officers from the ‘Forest Department of Tamilnadu’ and the scientists from ‘Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding’ (IFGTB), Coimbatore also.

Hence, considering all the above positive features I recommend you to implement the project in whole as per the project implementation schedule for attaining a 100% success in this maiden venture.

Please find here in attached a model format of ‘Contract Agreement of TNPL’ for perusal.

Thanking you,

A.Vishnu Sankar.

Leaf and bark pattern of Dalbergia sissoo and Dalbergia latifolia:

Dear friends,

This post has become necessary to clear the doubts among our readers about the identification of Dalbergia sissoo (Sisu) and Dalbergia latifolia (Eeti, Thothakathi, East Indian Rose wood).

• Sissoo leaves have pointing tip whereas the leaves of Latifolia are blunt and rounded.
• While the bark of D.Sissoo is dark brown, very rough thick layer and with cracks, the bark of D.Latifolia is gray in colour, thin and smooth in appearance.

Refer the following links also:
Link 1
Link 2
and my previous posts on Sissoo.

(Please note that the pictures showing leaf pattern of Dalbergia latifolia were taken with the trunk of Gmelina arborea (Kumil) in the background).

Regards,
Vishnu Sankar

Melia Dubia ( Tamil: Malai Vembu ) plantation and veneer:

A Melia dubia mother plant bed in FCRI, Mettupalayam.

A 'Melia dubia' plantation 1 year and 8 months old in FCRI, Mettupalayam.

Veneer (a layer of plywood) is a thin sheet of wood of uniform thickness cut on a lathe by rotating a log against a knife blade in a peeling operation. Since Melia dubia is a low grade timber; it is widely being used as inner and back veneer in plywood making and it is not used as face veneer.

A rotary cut veneer from Melia dubia, 60” in Width, 4 mm in thickness on display at FCRI, Mettupalayam.

Regards,
Vishnu Sankar

Stem borer attack in Melia dubia (Malai vembu)

Dear friends,
A keen follower of this blog has sent the following queries and pictures for clarification.

Question:

I have planted around 600 Malai Vembu in my agriculture land in Salem @ a spacing of 10 feet x 10 feet. The trees are about 8 month old, drip irrigated and have attained a height of about 10 to 12 feet. I am facing two problems now. There is bulging of stem in some plants and the earlier occurred plants broke subsequently. This bulging of stem occurs at various heights of the plant. Is it Stem borer ('Thandu Puzhu' in Tamil)? Whether Phorate application controls it?

Secondly I notice branches shooting out and in some trees they fall down on their own on reaching a length of 3 to 4 feet. Shall I allow these branches to grow? Please suggest me solutions for these.

Answer: The above pictures were sent to Dr.K.K.Suresh, Prof & Head, Dept. of Forestry and Silviculture, Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, and Mr.Sivakumar, Senior Scientist, IFGTB, Coimbatore for their opinion. Replies received:

• It looks like stem borer. You may make your observation in the point of breaking of stem for any bore hole for confirming the presence of stem borer.


• The treatment recommended for Casuarina stem borer attack may be followed. Inserting wire through the bore hole to remove the feeding larvae and applying insecticide soaked cotton (15ml of dichlorvos). Injecting insecticide into the holes where the larvae puss out their frass is the effective method. Inject after removal of frass.


• Application of Phorate in the soil may not be appropriate at this chronic stage. Since the pest is a borer, application of phorate in the soil around the stem disrupts its life cycle and multiplication.


• For clear examination, send cut portion of the infected region through courier for a clear examination and for recommending the right control measure.


• Once the stem break you will notice new shoots coming out just below the broken portion. You have to cut the tree at the base and allow the coppice shoot at the base to come up (See the picture below) and not the shoot at the top (near the broken point), as this may dislodge if there is heavy wind.

• Breaking of branches may also be due to attack by some insects as this tree does not shed branches of its own as done in Eucalyptus.

• Remove and burn all broken branches in which the breeding takes place.


• If the pest attack exceeds the threshold limit, spraying of 0.2% dichlorvos with 0.2% Chlorpyrifos or Monocrotophos as foliar application followed by soil application of 20 gm of Phorate or Carbofuran per plant will give desired result.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks on behalf of all the readers to the above two scientists for giving this detailed reply.

Regards,
Vishnu Sankar.