Pruning Trees

Pruning is essential in order to give the trees desired growth with correct shape. Being a timber tree, Melia Dubia has to grow vertically with single trunk.

We need to cut all the extra competitive branches and left the one which looks more straight & strong. 

Best time to pruning at the beginning of winter season or at the end of winter season. (more relevant to North India)

Guide : How to prune the tree?

Sesbania as Green Manure for Melia Dubia

Sesbania : Green Manure for Melia Dubia

Green Manure

Green undecomposed material used as manure is called green manure. It is obtained in two ways: by growing green manure crops or by collecting green leaf (along with twigs) from plants grown in wastelands, field bunds and forest. Green manuring is growing in the field plants usually belonging to leguminous family and incorporating into the soil after sufficient growth. The plants that are grown for green manure known as green manure crops. The most important green manure crops are sunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesara,clusterbeans and Sesbania rostrata.

Sesbania rostrata is a stem nodulating green manure crop which is a native of West Africa. As it is a short-day plant and sensitive to photoperiod, the length of vegetative period is short when sown in August or September. A mutant (TSR-l) developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay is insensitive to photoperiod, tolerant to salinity and waterlogged condition. Growth and nitrogen fixation is higher with TSR-l compared to the existing strains.

Nutrient content of green manure crops

Plant	Scientific name	Nutrient content (%) on air dry basis
		N	P2O5	K
Sunhemp	Crotalaria juncea	2.30	0.50	1.80
Dhaincha	Sesbania aculeata	3.50	0.60	1.20
Sesbania	Sesbania speciosa	2.71	0.53	2.21

Advantages

1. Improves soil structure
2. Increases water holding capacity and
3. Decreases soil loss by erosion

Source

Progress : Melia Dubia : Sept, 2014

Melia dubia grown in severely compacted soil

Tilling the severely compacted soil

Today the soil is very heavy in clay content and is severely compacted in nature. This makes it difficult for roots of Melia Dubia to push through and grow. Due to high clay content, the water absorption capacity is very poor which can cause infection in trunk and roots. To break up compacted soil, we will need to till the soil and then work organic matter into the soil so it retains its loosened texture. Powered tillers make the job easier. Set it to till down to 10 to 12 inches deep. Leave the overturned soil for two to three days to dry out. Any roots, rocks, sticks or other foreign matter must be removed. We should then combine the soil with 2 to 3 inches of organic matter -- such as compost or rotted manure. The organic matter will help to naturally loosen and aerate the soil.

After tilling the fields, I have grown Sesbania (green manuer) which will help in weed control apart from providing excellent organic matter

Progress : Melia Dubia : July, 2014

Essential nutrients for Melia dubia

Essential nutrients for Melia dubia

There are six primary nutrients that plants require. Plants get the first three—carbon, hydrogen and oxygen—from air and water. The other three are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen helps plants make the proteins they need to produce new tissues. In nature, nitrogen is often in short supply so plants have evolved to take up as much nitrogen as possible, even if it means not taking up other necessary elements. If too much nitrogen is available, the plant may grow abundant foliage but not produce fruit or flowers. Growth may actually be stunted because the plant isn't absorbing enough of the other elements it needs.

Phosphorous stimulates root growth, helps the plant set buds and flowers, improves vitality and increases seed size. It does this by helping transfer energy from one part of the plant to another. To absorb phosphorous, most plants require a soil pH of 6.5 to 6.8. Organic matter and the activity of soil organisms also increase the availability of phosphorus.

There are three additional nutrients that plants need, but in much smaller amounts:

Calcium is used by plants in cell membranes, at their growing points and to neutralize toxic materials. In addition, calcium improves soil structure and helps bind organic and inorganic particles together.

Magnesium is the only metallic component of chlorophyll. Without it, plants can't process sunlight.

Sulfur is a component of many proteins.

Finally, there are eight elements that plants need in tiny amounts. These are called micro nutrients and include boron, copper and iron. Healthy soil that is high in organic matter usually contains adequate amounts of each of these micro nutrients.

Melia Dubia Plantation Progress - May, 2014

Progress : Melia Dubia : May, 2014

Watering them once a week has helped a lot..!!  within one month, there is major improvement in the growth

Now I need to work on the weed control..they are not good as they eat the resources and also can be source of infection 

Weeds are simply plants that take advantage of open areas with available resources. The simplest way to control weeds is to eliminate the open niches that they take advantage of.

I need to perform the tilling of soil urgently before the monsoon starts. Also I am planning to seed plants which can act like organic fertilizer and also help prevent the weed growth

Melia Dubia Plantation March, 2014

Progress : Melia Dubia : March, 2014


Now they are one year old and as far as their growth is concerned, it is not up to the mark.

Reasons :

• Lack of sufficient watering in last summers  [ April - July ] and later on in winters. I had only watered them once a month due (instead of once a week) in summers due to lack of proper irrigation system. Although the specie of Melia Dubia is robust and can survive without watering for months, it costs them their growth heavily

• Lack of proper plowing [ regular plowing makes soil better for water absorption and also help in nitrogen generation ] 

Now that I have made arrangements for regular watering, I hope the trees will recover their growth soon...!!

In the beginning,  most of the trees will have uneven growth in terms of pattern and height. This is normal. Once they achieve their age of 3+, most of them will achieve the same level of growth.

Melia Dubia Plantation April, 2013

Progress Update Dated :   6th April, 2013

Melia Dubia was planted in the month of Jan, 2013.  As the winters goes, leaflets had started to grow


Tiny saplings of Melia Dubia among wheat crop

I think it is better to avoid cultivating any additional crop till the plants are atleast 8 month old. Also it is important to understand the requirement of water and fertilization for the additional crop with respect to Melia Dubia.

Melia Dubia Plantation Details

Plantation Date :  15 Jan, 2013

Area  :  5 hectares

Total Trees  :  2,000

Cost :  Rs 48 per sapling (including plantation cost)  

* Watering/fertilization cost additional
* Cost per Sapling can vary according to its local availability/applicable rates/transportation cost
* Plantation cost depends on local labor cost

Harvesting Plan :  300 trees annually starting from 6th year onward. Also replacing the harvested one with new plants

Irrigation Type :   flood irrigation

Irrigation Schedule : 

Jan - March ( Winters )  :  Once a month
April - July ( Summers )  :   Weekly basis
Aug - Oct ( Monsoon )   :   No additional watering (rains are enough)
Sept - Dec   :   Every 20 days (depends on occasional rains )

Fertilization :  Every six month

Active Growth Period :  April to October  [ In winters, it shades its leaves ]

Plantation Layout

Important considerations while deciding the gaps/plantation layout

• In order to grow, plants need ample of space for sunlight (less competition)
• Expected time period for harvesting. Longer the harvesting period, greater spacing is required to be maintained for bigger tree (large canopy)
• Type of wind blow pattern and speed

Key Points for above plantation layout

• I have observed that a tree which is having enough open space (10 ft +) at-least in one side can have normal growth as compared to the tree covered by other trees (less then 10 ft gap) from all four sides
• Having four side wide open around the plantation side, I decided to keep less space between trees on the border belt. Putting up border belt increases the quantity of trees
• Border belt also helps in acting as wind barrier as wind can be dangerous once the trees are between 2.5 to 4 years of age due to their lesser strength in proportion to their height. Exposure to high winds can tear apart the tree's trunk from shoulder joints
• In order to avoid the development of weeds in the empty area of the field, I would prefer to cultivate crops like mustard or cereals or even shade friendly organic farming. This will also help in recovering cost of maintaining the trees. Atleast for first 3 years, it is very much possible to cultivate additional crops before entire field is covered by shade of trees.

Post Plantation

• Immediate watering

Plantation of Melia Dubia Trees

About Melia Dubia
Melia Dubia is a fast growing tree which belongs to Meliaceae [also] family and is an indigenous species of tree to India, South East Asia and Australia. It provides high quality timber and biomass.

Melia Dubia is a wonder tree which can bring fortunes for farmers. As we all know that the wood supply can never meet its ever growing demand, cultivating Melia Dubia can help farmers earn high income as compared to the traditional farming.

The tree can be cultivated in all types of soil and requires a low supply of water on a daily basis. Melia dubia has the unique feature of growing upto 40 feets within 2 years from planting and can be mechanically pruned and harvested. Apart from being used as a source of timber, it can also be used as energy crop with a potential of yielding in excess 40 tonnes of biomass on average per acre per annum over a 10 year period (before replanting is required). it’s high calorific value makes it a viable source of feedstock for biomass power plants.

Meliadubia Cultivation

Melia Dubia vs Poplar Cultivation

I belongs to Muzaffarnagar (Western Uttar Pradesh) and people here are cultivating poplar tree in very large scale in order to earn good income. As more and more people are getting into poplar cultivation in last 15 years, rate of return from the same is falling sharply. Poplar tree is primarily used for  manufacturing paper, cheap plywood and matchboxes etc. I do not find poplar cultivation a lucrative option anymore.

Muzaffarnagar/Sharanpur belt is know for the local wood work (furniture manufacturing) and the industry is more dependent on imported good quality timber. Today, it makes sense to cultivate trees which can provide good quality timber to cater the ever growing timber demand from local furniture manufacturing.

After conducting research on the internet and also talking to local people which included timber merchants (small scale), furniture makers, forest department people etc, I reached to the conclusion that moving ahead with cultivation of Melia dubia can surely bring good results. On top of this, being an early bird planter in the area, it can fetch extra premium.

Melia Dubia tree gets ready for timber from 6 years onward and can fetch premium price as it gets older (wider trunk) upto 15 years of age.

Six year old Melia Dubia tree can provide timber worth Rs 8,000 to 10,000  depending on the cylindrical straight bole and girth size

In western UP, due to weather conditions, active growth period of Melia Dubia is between April to November. In winters (Dec to March) it shades its leaves and goes to sleep..!!

Lets get started..

I traditionally belongs to a farmer family. Apart from working as IT professional for so many years, I always wanted to experience the farming. Now that I have decided to "walk the talk", I am happy to pursue my first agro project and share my experience with everyone.

I am starting this blog with an objective to note down all my experiences while pursuing my hobby in agriculture with a wish that it can help others as well..