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..!!