1

MELLIA (DUBIA) “KADBEVU”

Saplings of the above species were planted by Hunsur Plywood Works Pvt.Ltd, Hunsur at their factory premises. The growth was very promising attaining a girth of 3 ½’ to 4’ after 10 years. One tree was felled and timber obtained was as follows;

Sl# Sizes Cuft. 1 18.0 x 3’.8” 15.3

4 ½’ – 4 nos The trees were grown in marginal laetrile soil with an annual rainfall of 40”. No special fertilizer or irrigation was carried out. Kadbevu branches at 20’ to 30’ from ground. The bole is straight, round, without any knots and without any butteress the average growth of girth after 8 years will workout to more than 5” to 6” per annum. It is expected to produce 12 to 15 Cuft. of timber in 10 years time. The average can be taken as 13.5 Cuft.

At present one cubic foot of Kadbevu fetches about Rs.160/- to Rs.200/- per Cuft. At this rate tree value will work out to Rs.2,430/-. The logs will fetch better price as availability increases and minimum annual increase in price may workout to 7%. The present rate M/s.Hunsur Plywood is purchasing the timber is as follows;

Length x Girth Rs. 8 ½’ x 4’ up 240.00 8 ½’ x 3’ to 4’ up 210.00 6 ½’ - 7 ½’ x 4’ up 210.00 6 ½’ – 7 ½’ x 3’ to 4’ up 180.00 5 ½’ x 4’ up 180.00 4 ½’ x 30” up 140.00

The average can be taken at Rs.180/- per Cuft. At a planting distance of 20’ x 20’ an acre can be planted with 109 trees. At the present value of Rs.180/- per Cuft. the income from one acre planted with this species should produce gross timber value of Rs.2,64,870/-.

5 year old trees grown

along the border of a farm

Note: This report was prepared in 1995. Figures of costs may be suitably altered to arrive at todays’ cost.

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

2

The planting cost per acre will be as follows; Estimated mandays to maturity in five years.

Account 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year Preliminary 4 Nil Nil Nil Nil Pitting 14 Nil Nil Nil Nil Planting 2 Nil Nil Nil Nil Weeding 8 8 6 4 4 Watering 6 6 8 8 8 Manuaring 2 1 1 1 1 Misc. 1 1 1 1 1

Total: 37 16 16 14 14 Mandays

Total expenditure for one acre to maturity;

Rs. 97 Mandays @ Rs.40.00 = 3880.00 109 Plants @ Rs.2.50 = 273.00 109 Trees logging = 550.00

Total 4703.00 Profitability 109 Trees at 13.5 Cuft. Per tree total timber 1471.50 Cuft. @ Rs.180/- per Cuft. - Rs.264870.00 Total Expenditure - 4,703.00 ------------------ Net Profit: 260168.00 ==========

Cost of land not included . Present cost of Dry land can be considered at Rs.30,000/- per acre. The timber was found to be ideal for plywood manufacture. The details of quality & technical specification are as follows; 1. The logs had very high moisture contents and were green 2. All logs were round and good for peeling. Roundness seems to be

inherent quality of this tree. 3. Logs peel easily. 4. Outturn is excellent – 70% & better in fresh cut logs 5. Veneer strong and firm 6. On drying waviness and cracks in veneers were noticeable but all

veneers were usable as cores. 7. Two small logs were peeled for faces. Quality obtained was

acceptable. M.R.Grade Plywood pressed with these veneers and in combination with other veneers gave excellent results.

The Miracle Tree

Note: This report was prepared in 1995. Figures of costs may be suitably altered to arrive at todays’ cost.

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

3

MELIA COMPOSTIA WILLD. (Syn: MELIA DUBIA Cav.;M.dubia Hiern non Cav.;M.robusta Roxb.;M.superba Rexb.)

LOCAL NAMES Assamese – Dingkurlong; Bengali – Ghora-nim, mahanim; Gujarati – Kadu-kajar, ambaro,

limbaro, nibara; Hindi – Ghora-nim, mahanim; Kannada – Heb-bevu, karibevan, bevu, betta-

bevu; Kadbevu; Malayalam – Malei-vembu, kattu-veppu, malayembu; Marathi – Kuriaput; Oriya

– Maha-limbu, batra; Tamil – Malai-vembu; Telugu – Munnatikaraka, munnuthi-karaka; Urdu –

Labshi, kala-khajur. Trade Name – Malabar Neem Wood. GROWTH HABIT

It is a fairly large, handsome, deciduous tree, attaining a girth of 1.2-1.5m and a height of about 20m, with a spreading crown and a cylindrical, straight bole of about 9m. An exceptionally large tree measured in South Chanda Division, Maharashtra, had a height of 32m and a girth of 2.7m at breast height (12). MORPHOLOGY

Young branches densely clothed with stellate pubescence, ultimately smooth. Bark reddish-brown or dark brown, exfoliating in thin, narrow strips. Blaze thin, crimson, then white. Leaves clustered towards the ends of the branches, bi-, sometimes tri-pinnate, 20-75 cm long; pinnae up to 20 cm long, 3 foliate or with up to 3-6 pairs of leaflets; ultimate leaflets opposite, 2-7.5 cm x 0.6-3.8 cm (the terminal the largest), [mostly ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, crenate or crenulate; base acute or rounded, more or less oblique; petiolules 0.3-0.6 cm long. Flowers greenish-white, 0.6-1.0 cm long, fragrant, in stellately-pubescent, many-flowered, branched panicles shorter than the leaves. Calyx 5-partite. Petals 0.6 cm long, linear-spathulate. Drupes ovoid or ellips id 2-4 cm x 1.8-2.3 cm, yellowish, smooth, with very hard endocarp and one seed.

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION

It is a tree of the easten Himalayas, ascending upto 1800m in North Bengal and in the Khasi and Cachar hill tracts. It is also found in the Peninsula from the Ganjam hills southwards to Tirunelveli in the east and from the Konkan southwards in the west. It is usually seen in deciduous hill forests in the Northern Circars, Nallamalai hills and Western Ghats from South Kanara southwards. (Fig.XXI-17). It also occurs in Sikkim and Bhutan.

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

4

SITE FACTORS Climate In its natural habitat, the absolute maximum shade temperature varies from 37.50 –47. 50C and the absolute minimum from 00 –150 Cand the absolute minimum from 00 –150 C. The mean daily maximum temperature in May, which is generally the hottest summer month varies from 300 –42. 50C; the mean daily minimum temperature in January, which is the coldest month of the year, varies from 70 –210C. It does well in moist regions, with a mean annual rainfall exceeding 1000 mm. The mean relative humidity in July varies from 70-90% and in January from 50-80%..

TOPOGRAPHY It is commonly found in the hills at elevations ranging from 600-1800 m.

OCCURRENCE IN FOREST TYPES

It occurs in Tropical moist and dry deciduous forests in the following sub-types as distinguished by CHAMPION & SETH (1968):-

(i) Very moist teak forest (3B/Cla), in association with teak, terminalia crenulata, Grewia tiliaifolia, Lagerstrocmia lanceolata, Dalbergia latifolia etc.

(ii) Northern secondary moist mixed deciduous forest (3C/2S1), in association with Mangifera indica, Anthocephalus cadamba, Alstonia scholaris, Dillenia pentagyno, etc.

(iii) Northern dry mixed deciduous forest (5B/C2), in association with Adina cordifolia, Largestroemia parviflora, Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia spp., Clerstanthus collinus, etc.

P H E N O L O G Y The tree is leafless for a short time from December-February. The new leaves appear in February – March along with the flowers. The fruits ripen during the cold season from October-February.

NATURE AND ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION

The seeds weigh 250-320 to the kilogram. The germinative capacity is about 1.5 for untreated seeds. They have a hard endocarp and are therefore quite difficult to germinate. Several experiments to accelerate and increase the germination percent have so far proved unsuccessful. It has been observed that germination is hastened by splitting the seeds longitudinally with a sharp bill-hook before sowing. Another method which has given fair results is burying the seeds in a pit for a about a year and then sowing them in a nursery bed. If a light ground fire is run through around the mother trees immediately after seed fall, there is a fair

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

5

amount of natural reproduction. In Karnataka, soaking the seeds in cold water for a week has been found very effective in accelerating and improving germination. In one experiment, 50% germination was obtained within a period of 48 days by this means (54). For raising seedlings in the nursery, the following method evolved in Tamil Nadu, has been found to give the best results. The seeds, after collection, are pounded in a wooden mortar to remove the pulp. They are then spread out in the seed bed, covered with a 7.5cm layer of leaf litter and burnt. Immediately after the burn, the seeds are covered with a 7.5-10 cm layer of earth and watered copiously. Of the 3 methods, viz., direct sowing, entire planting and stump planting, entire planting is significantly the best method of raising the species. Both nursery-raised and natural seedlings that are 20-30 cm in height are suitable for planting out at the commencement of the south-west or north-east monsoon rains. Afforestation * It has been successfully used along with other species for afforestation work in the arid tract of Ahmednagar forest division in Maharashtra. It was found to give almost 100% success once it got established, and attained a height of 1.8 m in 3 years. Direct sowings were done in the earlier years but, after 1960, these were followed by planting of nursery-raised seedling or polythene bag seedling. Sowing and planting were done in contour trenches on steeper slopes, on raised earthen bunds on gentler slopes and in pits of 0.3m cube at an espacement of 3.6 m x 3.6m in other areas. * Remarks:

(1) Suggested Pit Size is 2’ x 2’- 0.6m Cube (2) Espacement of 5.0m x 5.0m is recommended this will give better girth in shorter

duration.

MANAGEMENT AND SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS

In Kerala, it is worked under the selection system with a minimum exploitable girth of 180 cm.

GROWTH STATISTICS **

The growth is rapid. GAMBLE’s specimens gave 8-12 rings/dm of radius (mean annual girth increment 5.3-8 cm) for a Tamil Nadu specimen, and 28 rings/dm (mean annual girth increment 2.3 cm) for a specimen from Bengal. North Kanara

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

6

specimens showed 12-16 rings/dm of radius (TALBOT, 1909), giving a mean annual girth increment of 4-5.3 cm. Trees grown in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens from seeds of Malabar origin are said to have reached in 7 years an average height of 14m and a girth of 112 cm at breast height; this rate of growth is equivalent to 4 rings/dm of radius. Even in comparatively dry regions with a rainfall of 750-1000 mm, a height growth of 3-4.5 m is obtained in plantations, against 6-7.5 m in more favourable locations. ** Remarks: Growth statistics will vary from locality to locality. In plantation areas with better spacing and more favourable conditions it is noticed that growth rate is better.

UTILISATION

Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Wood The sapwood is greyish-white, usually with a yellowish cast; the heartwood is light pink to light red when first exposed, ageing to pale russet-brown, subject to grey stain. It is lustrous and without characteristic odour or taste. It is very light (sp.gr., approximately 0.34, weight at 12% moisture content about 336 kg/m3), straight-grained, coarse and somewhat uneven-textured. Annual growth ings are distinct but not conspicuous and number 12-16/dm of radius. Seasoning and Preservation behaviour; The timber seasons well if the logs are converted in a green state, though if left long in the log, It is liable to develop end-splitting and discoloration. Like many other meliaceous timbers, it contracts very considerably across the grain while drying out. The best method of dealing with the timber is to convert the logs as soon after felling as possible and to open stack the sawn material, preferably under cover, to avoid grey stain. The wood is not durable in exposed locations, but is moderately so under cover. It is not readily attacked by white ants. It is rarely subjected to antiseptic treatment. Present day Uses The wood is chiefly used for making light packing cases, cigar boxes, ceiling planks, etc. Though not accepted as standard, it is used for match boxes and splints and for plywood. It is used for making cheap pencils. The wood can be used as fuel.

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

7

Statistics from Melia Dubia Tree grown in year 1995 in Hunsur Plywood Works Pvt.Lt,d Hunsur-571 105, Mysore Dist.

DATE OF PLANTING 15.07.1995 ENUMARATION DATE: 28.10.2009 SPECIES: MELIA DUBIA (KAD BEVU) (APP: TREE MEASURMENT) Log

# Length Length Girth Girth Volume Volume in Feet In Mtrs. In Ft. In Cms Cuft. CBM 1 28' 8.55 3' 9" 1.14 24.6 0.694 2 30' 9.85 3' 0" 0.91 16.9 0.510 3 28' 9.20 3' 5" 1.04 20.4 0.622 4 20' 6.55 2' 9" 0.84 9.4 0.289 5 27' 8.85 3' 4" 1.02 18.7 0.575 6 26' 8.55 2' 11" 0.89 13.8 0.423 7 30' 9.85 3' 8" 1.12 25.8 0.772 8 24' 7.85 2' 10" 0.86 12.0 0.363 9 20' 6.55 2' 6" 0.76 7.8 0.236

149.4 4.484 Total: 9 Trees Average Girth 3’.2” Cuft. CBM Deduction for 9 LOGS 149.4 4.484 Less 10% 14.8 0.498 134.6 3.986 (APP: 15 Cuft per Tree) {For 14 Years}

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD

8

Statistics from Melia Dubia Tree grown in year 1995 in Hunsur Plywood Works Pvt.Lt,d Hunsur-571 105, Mysore Dist. Age of the Plantation 14 years

No.of Trees per Acre = 43,560 ÷ 400 108 Trees

No. of surviving trees per Acre 97 Trees

Distance between Trees 20’ x 20’ (6 Mtrs. X 6 Mtrs)

Average Girth of Tree 3’.2” (96 Cms)

Average Height of Tree 26’ (7.84 Mtrs)

Average yield per tree 15 Cuft (0.425 CBM)

Market Value of Timber at present Rs.250/- per Cuft. (Rs.8,830/- per CBM)

Average Value of Tree Rs.3750/-

Value of Timber after 14 years for 97 Trees @ rate of 15 Cuft per tree at today’s price of Rs.250/- per Cuft (i.e. year 2009)

Rs.3,63,750/-

Average annual inflation 4% per annum

Inflation after 14 years at rate of 4% per annum compounded

80% Compounded Annually

Rate of timber after 14 years will be Rs.450/- per Cuft

Value of Timber after 14 years i.e. in year 2023 at rate of Rs.450/- per Cuft will be 15 Cuft x 97 x Rs.450/- =

Rs.6,54,750/-

Value realized / Acre / year Rs.6,54,750 ÷ 14 years 1 acre = 0.405 Hectar

Rs.46,768/-

Value realized per Tree per year = Rs.482/- per tree.

Remarks: 1) Only clear bole of tree is taken into a/c. Lops & tops not accounted for 2) Soil condition, average, red loam 3) Rainfall about 30” (75 Cms) per year. 4) Melia Dubia has profuse seeding annually. 5) Seeds can be collected for use in extraction of Bio-pesticides 6) Distance between the trees can be 15’x15’ but our recommendation is 20’x 20’

HUNSUR PLYWOOD WORKS PVT.LTD Post Box#2, B.M.Road, Hunsur-571105,Karnataka State, India Ph: 0091-8222-252860 & 252025 Fax: 0091-8222-252140 e-mail: hunsply@gmail.com