Anthocephalus cadamba, Neolamarckia cadamba (Vellai Kadambu in Tamil)

Some snippets from IFGTB: Tree Growers Mela -2012 

Part-5:   Anthocephalus cadamba:

At the 'Tree Growers mela' a very informative presentation on Anthocephalus cadamba (Kadambam, Vellai kadambu  in Tamil) was made by Dr.Vijayaragavan, Scientist, IFGTB, Coimbatore. His speech dealt with special features of Cadamba, + tree selection, propagation methods, nursery raising, cultivation technology, uses, economics of cultivation, yield and profit.

Anthocephalus cadamba is native to the following areas:
Southern China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The pictures of Cadamba plantations published here were taken by the scientists of IFGTB at the farm of 'Hindustan Pencils Ltd., owners of very popular "Nataraj pencils' and 'Apsara' brands, near Coimbatore. This company is producing a mind boggling quantity of 5.6 million pencils, 1.2 million sharpeners, 2.3 million erasers, 0.16 million scales and 0.30 million pens daily (read once again 'DAILY'!). 

Instead of thoughtlessly plundering trees for pencil manufacture, and relying on forest grown timber, the company encourage renewable sources of timber by procuring their requirement from those who grow trees on their own farms.

The company has also ventured into developing their own timberland for raising short rotation tree crops. Since there is a wide gap between demand and supply, there is scope for the Indian farmers to go in for the cultivation of Cadamba under contract farming.

Trees can be grown up to MSL 1300m.

Rainfall : 500 - 1600 mm

Tree selecton:

A good + tree selection in natural forests and in private plantations by IFGTB, Coimbatore has resulted in the availability superior plants of 'Kadamba' to the tree growers of India. 

 

Fruit collection, processing and handling:

Readers are requested to Click the link: 'Nursery technique' for more information.

1 Kg will contain 9 Lakh seeds.

Flowering : May - June (Bisexual flowers)
Fruits : June - Feb
Germination - 90% (Germinate in 2 weeks).
Nursery:

Transplantation from mother-bed to poly-bags can be done when the seedling attain the height of 5 cm. 

Propagation by 'cuttings' and Tissue culture technology:

Pit size: 1.5 ft depth. Application of F.Y.M and Vermicompost in the pit will induce root development.
Spacing: 5m x 5m for bulk planting and 4m x 4m for border planting.
Growth: Trees grow to a height of 12m to 26 m, (2.5m growth / per year)
Girth - 70 to 125 cm

 Cadamba wood :

 Cadamba is a good shade giving tree:

Uses of Cadamba:

• Pencil making, match splints, ply-woods, pulp wood for paper, leaves as fodder and they are also used to cure throat infection. 
• Fruits also have medicinal properties. Seeds have 'Anti-poison' medical properties. Crush the seeds, dissolve them in water and drink it as medicine for "Anti-poison'.
• Natural yellow dye can be extracted from the root bark.  
• Due to its heavy leaf shedding nature, O.C content of the soil can be increased. 
• As there is no distinct heart wood, tree can be easily sawed.

Wood demand for the manufacture of pencils:
India requires 30 crores pencil / month.
'Nataraj pencils' alone produces 20 crores.
'Nataraj pencils' has manufacturing facility in J and K, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu.

Economics:

An 8 years old tree with a Ht of 10m and a girth of 100cm will give 11 Cu Ft of wood.
! Cu Ft = Rs.250
Rs.250 x 11 Cu Ft = Rs.2750 per Tree.
For 400 Trees per Ha x Rs.2750= Rs.11.00L ( Approx. 9000 / Month).
Additional Income is possible from inter cropping also. 

In Bund planting:
If the spacing is 3 to 4m - 130 trees.
130 x Rs.2750 = Rs.3.58 L ( Approx. Rs.3300 / Month).

Harvest cycle is 8 years in India and 4 - 5 years in other countries.

To achieve this economic gain:
Select good seedlings from nursery, cultivate in fertile soil that have good soil depth, give proper irrigation and opt for 'Contract farming',

Content and pictures courtesy:

 Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore.
Dr.Vijayaragavan, Scientist, IFGTB, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India.

For those readers who want more specific information on Cadamba:

• Name of the plant - Anthocephalus cadamba (or) 

        Neolamarckia cadamba   (Vellai Kadambu, Kadamba maram in Tamil).

• N’ fixing capacity                - No.

•  Fodder Tree                        - Yes. 

•  Deciduous                           - Yes. 

•  Drought tolerance              - Can’t tolerate long drought period. 

•  Soil type / pH range - Deep, moist, well-drained loamy soils of alluvial origin. (Not suitable for clay soil). 

• Tolerance to water logging - After sapling stage, the tree is quite tolerant of water-logged areas where the water inundates for 2-3 months. 

•  Seeds    - Tiny seeds. About 6 kg of dry fruits yield 1 kg of seed. Each fruit on an average yields 456 mg of pure seeds. Approx. 9 – 11 lakhs seeds / kg.

• Germination  - Sowing of pulped seed gives poor germination (4.85%) as compared to sieved and winnowed seed (52%). 

•  Vegetative propagation    - Possible. Not recommended.   This species is best raised by planting out entire seedlings or polythene bag raised seedlings during June – July at start of monsoon when they are about 4-5 months old. 

•  Spacing for border planting- 4 m x 4 m,   
•  Spacing for bulk planting   - 5 m x 5 m 

•   Maturity  -  8 years 

•  Growth :  Height  - 20 m Ht in its favorable habitat.

                       Girth     - 1.5 m – 2 m

                       Yield     - 10 to 11 Cu ft of wood in 8 years.

• Timber -  The wood is white to creamy white, odourless, light in weight , straight-grained and medium and even textured. It is moderately strong, can be seasoned easily; but susceptible to sap- stain quickly after conversion, non durable; can be easily and completely treated with preservatives. Treated timber is quite durable. It saws and works easily under tools. Peels readily on a rotary lathe.

• Weight -  545 kg/cum at 12% moisture content.

• Uses -  The wood is extensively used for ceiling boards, light construction work, packing cases, planking, carving and turnery. The wood makes good veneers and plywood suitable for the manufacture of grade IV commercial plywood and tea chest plywood. It is also suitable for both match boxed and splints. Tests indicate its suitability for writing and printing paper giving 48.6% yield and over 6000 m breaking length. Brown wrapping paper can also be prepared by sulphate process. Fruits are edible. Bark and leaves are used for medicinal purposes. 

•  Ratoon / Coppice capability - Yes, vigorous. 

•  Special features if any  - The species is fast growing especially in the initial years. Rate of growh is very rapid in the earlier years; on an average it gives a maximum girth increment of 15 cm per annum upto the 9th year, the height increment averages 3 m per annum for the first six or eight years after which the growth becomes slower. Tends to grow vertically in the initial years without branches and then branched to form a big canopy. A beautiful majestic looking tree. Performs well in irrigated conditions. For the first 2 – 3 years irrigation is essential. Requires more sunlight and will not grow well in shades. It can regenerate well even if the branches are pruned annually for fodder. A good windbreaker. 

 Courtesy of the above content:  FCRI, Mettupalayam, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. 

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar

Melia dubia for Biomass power production:

Dear friends,

"...Treat wood on par with food"...,

"...change from 'Hydrocarbon economy' to 'Carbohydrate economy'.."

"...Fast woods better than Fast foods"

"...Civilizations flourish in fertile soils' and diminish in depleted soils'.."  

"...policies to lift 'Primary sector' from the 'Tread mill' and place on 'Escalator',

"...cultivation and utilization of trees as an economically viable, ecologically    empathetic, environmentally ameliorative and aesthetically acceptable..." 

By now you might have guessed the person who cleverly uses the likes of above keywords and key phrases to deliver a punch to get the attention of the listeners. He is none other then our Dr.G.Kumaravelu, former Indian Forest service Officer and a well known Forest and tree scientist in India. 

He is the person who introduced Melia dubia for economical upliftment of farmers and the main driving force to popularize the concept of using Melia dubia for biomass power generation.

• 'Melia dubia tree holds promise of good returns for ryots'

• 'Melia dubia tree can generate substantial power for Tamilnadu'

• 'Utilising the Melia dubia wood as alternative fuel in co-generation plants of co-operative sugar mills in the State' (Note: Last part of the above article deals with Melia dubia).

Trees suitable for biomass power generation should have the following characteristics: Fast growing, drought tolerance, tolerance to grow in all types soil, coppice capability, short gestation period of 2-3 years, with high calorific value, less ash content Etc.,

Casuarina junghuhniana, Casuarina equestifolia, Eucalyptus, Melia dubia, Leucaena leucocephala (Subapul), Prosopis juliflora (Seemai karuvel / Vaeli karuvel in Tamil), Bamboo are viable source of feedstock for combustible type Biomass power plants.

Some major companies, who have established their units in Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts with the intention of using Prosopis Juliflora which is seen almost everywhere in Tamil Nadu, as their main biomass material are feeling the pinch now with the high cost and non availability of feedstock. It is not an exaggeration to mention here that many of the biomass power plants had become economically unviable and had to be shut. 

The time has now come for them to establish energy plantations, announcing  'Minimum Support Price' and entering into 'Buy back agreements' to infuse confidence among the farmers.

According to Dr.G.Kumaravelu, Melia dubia (Malai Vembu in Tamil, Hebbevu in Kannada, Konda Veppa in Telugu) is the right choice for establishing large scale energy plantations because of it's excellent utility value as Biomass fuel with good Calorific value of 5,043 - 5,176 Kcal / Kg., lesser ash content of 2.88% and higher fixed carbon content.

Electricity production in Biomass Gasifier / Combustion using 'Melia dubia':

• Spacing @1.5x1.5m...........-  1740 Plants / Acre.
• Yield @ 50 Kg/tree after 2 years - 87 Tonnes/Acre/irrigated & fertigated.
• Yield per year...................-  44 Tonnes /Acre / Year
• 1MW production................-  24 Tonnes/Day. (Roughly 2Kg for 1 unit)
• For 365 days.....................-  8760 Tonnes/Year. (Approx.9000 T)
• If the yield is 50 T/Acre/Year, than for continuous feedstock availability 360 acres (180 acres x 2) of Melia should be planted.
• Viability: 10 MW plant. So, 3600 acres are to be planted.
• Profit for farmer:87TxRs.2000=Rs.1.74 Lakh /2 years (-) cultivation + Drip + Fertilizers + Harvest cost Rs.0.74= Rs.1.00 L (i.e) Rs.0.50/year.
• Cost of production for the mill: Rs.3.50 per unit.
• Cost of selling electricity - Rs.4.50 per unit.
• Minimum profit for the company (per unit) - Rs.1.00 

This meagre profit to the power producer is due to the wrong calculation adopted by the Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency when fixing power purchase rate. The agency estimated the biomass cost at Rs.1000 per ton whereas the  present actual cost is around Rs.2500 / Ton.

Apart from sales, the other benefits being enjoyed by the companies are capital subsidy, selling the byproducts  - Biochar and Activated charcoal, availing carbon credit under CDM and the subsidy from Department of Non-conventional Energy.

All is well for the producers and to the power buyers because they are getting  cheap subsidy and power at cheap rate respectively.

All is not well to the farmers since companies are still offering Minimum Support Price of only Rs.1800/Ton/at farm gate even for contract farming (Click the Link:FCRI- Market Current Prices).

Need of the hour is for the Government to take into account the interests of the farmers and fix a reasonable Minimum Support Price on the lines of 'Sugarcane Pricing' every year. In the present chaotic power scenario, our Govt. can also directly participate in the "Power from Biomass programme" like its decision to participate in the ethanol programme of Sugar Industry.

By announcing more procurement price for the feedstock and a reasonable price for the Power produced by the companies, our Govt. will not only solve the present power crisis but also will bring back smiles to the majority voters (sic) farmers.

Regards,
A.Vishnu Sankar

Casuarina junghuhniana as intercrop in Melia dubia plantation:

Dear Friends,

Some hard facts about Melia dubia (Malai Vembu) and Casuarina junghuhniana:

• Melia dubia has very good coppice capability whereas C.junghuhniana exhibits very poor coppice growth, so any attempts for ratoon cultivation of C.junghuhniana will be uneconomical. (For more info: Click here).

• Mean annual girth increment of above 5 cm places Melia dubia in the list of fast growing plants in the world. It is observed that when planted in rain-fed conditions its characteristic rapid growth declines after 2 years. So to maintain a uniform growth even after the initial years of establishment stage, regular irrigation along with application of fertilizers (if planted in poor soils) is necessary. In contrast, growth of C.junghuhniana  is uniform even in drought conditions and in poor soils. So farmers who are blessed (?) with problematic soils can opt C.junghuhniana or Eucalyptus instead of Melia dubia which has now got more publicity than it really deserves.

• Casuarina junghuhniana is drought tolerant (survived without water for 6 months in my field) whereas 4% of 2 year old and 1% 6 years old Melia dubia trees perished. So irrigation is must for Melia during summer.

• Casuarina junghuhniana thrives well in high clay, sodic soil with a pH of more than 9.4 whereas 30% (read thirty percent) of Melia dubia trees dried during severe drought and growth was stunted during monsoon because of water stagnation.

These observations were made from the soil types of my field located in Tirunelveli district and hence readers should bear in mind that findings will vary in different soil types and in different agro-climatic zones. 

We may conclude that Melia is a preferred crop for a good fertile soil and C.junghuhniana or Eucalyptus can be preferred for problematic (high alkaline, Sodic, high clay content and saline soils) and for lands with poor soil depth.

(For more information on Casuarina junghuhniana intercropping with Melia dubia: Click 1, Click 2 here).

 The same Melia dubia ratoon after 1 year:

Casuarina junghuhniana as intercrop in Melia dubia field. 

During severe summer C.J is still green,

 whereas  Melia dubia sheds all its leaves.

Regards,
A.Vishnu Sankar.

Sustainable Energy Development should not be at the cost of Agriculture

Dear Friends,

"Plants for Power plants" is the buzz word now. 

There are news reports that by raising plantations that could be used in biomass power generation, the wastelands in our country could be converted into green lands and farmers will get substantial entitlements and enviable returns.  

There is no question that "Energy is Engine for growth" and 'Bio-energy is Green energy and Clean energy'.  

 

The word 'Biomass' in this context can be referred as 'Bio-degradable wastes' that can be burnt as fuel. In wood fired Biomass power plants, biomass is burnt to produce steam which in turn is used for power generation through turbines.

The worrying development now in India is that almost all agricultural wastes find their way into furnaces for power production. Our self styled environmentalists conveniently forgot that for a sustainable agriculture a portion of produce must be returned back to our mother earth to maintain a reasonable 'Organic Carbon content' in the soil.  

If this pillage is allowed further then the all important 'Carbon cycle' will get seriously disrupted. It is an irony that the proponents of 'CDM's are availing Carbon credits for this carbon plunder.  

These Biomass Power plants have already started to use Coconut fronds, shell, fiber waste, Cotton stalk, straws and stalks of all the plants, Rice husk, Coffee husk, Saw dust,  Corncobs, Ground nut husk, wastes from all Grams (Red, Black, Green Etc..), Millets, Cereals after thrashing  and whatever things they see on road that can be burned. To their benefit our Govt's Biomass Power Policy clearly define the term 'Biomass' as all field level residues, plantation crop residues and Agro industry residues.

To put it simply all agriculture wastes that once found their way to Agri waste pit in our farm for compost making (FYM) is now moving out to these furnaces in the garb of producing 'Clean energy'. 

In the eyes of the farmer, the 'Rice bran/husk' is a cattle feed and a very good manure for his field. An industrialist view it as an input to extract cooking oil. The scenario is entirely different now as it is viewed in terms of 'Biomass availability' (Kt/Yr), Power potential (MWe), 'Calorific value' (Kcal) roughly 1.5 kg of rice husk yields 1 kwh (kilowatts per hour) electricity), and 'ash content' only. In future you may not get rice husk even for cattle feed also. 

Agricultural residual waste is essential for soil health and their total annihilation for power production is detrimental to the equally all important food production.  In similar lines,Cuban President Mr.Fiedal Castro objects to the idea of converting food into fuel.(Read : Ethanol Vs Poor).

So the need of the hour is a change in our Govt's policy thereby forcing these wood fired biomass power companies to procure trees cultivated exclusively for this purpose directly from the farmers under contractual agreement at a prefixed procurement price.

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar.