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Forestry research activities

1.TREE IMPROVEMENT WORKS

Tree improvement is the application of knowledge of genetic variation in tree species coupled with appropriate application of genetic principles, reproductive physiology and orchard management to produce trees capable of better performance in a specified biological zone. The goal of tree improvement is to understand and maintain an adequate genetic resource while improving the rate of tree growth, disease resistance, and quality of stem, wood, fruit and fiber. Tree improvement is a process and involves various programmes namely:

1.	Selection of Plus trees
2.	Identification of Seed Stands
3.	Creation of Clonal Seed Orchards and Seedling Seed Orchards
4.	Establishment of Germ plasm Banks
5.	Tissue culture
6.	Vegetative propagation
7.	Progeny trials
8.	Introduction of exotics

1.1 SELECTION of Plus trees

In any given population we always find individuals which are better than the rest in terms of height, yield, branching or any other desirable trait. In a tree population such trees are called as plus trees and used to establish a base population for future breeding. Plus trees have been identified for commercially important species which yield timber, fruit and other NTFP. Plus trees have been identified not only in forest areas and Government lands but also in private lands. Such Plus trees are marked and propagated through vegetative methods. The resulting population is assembled in clonal orchards in different locations of the state for further multiplication and evaluation. Identification of Plus trees is a continuous process .

Silviculturist, Central Zone, Bangalore has devised three different scoring tables for screening the selected ‘candidate' Plus trees. These are for Tamarind, Jackfruit and timber species. Based on the score given to ‘candidate' Plus trees the final selection is made. In the entire state 8940 Plus trees belonging to 109 species have been identified in different agro-climatic zones. With the help of Forest Geneticist, FRI Deharadun, 50 Plus trees of Teak were also identified in the year 1980.

1.2 Identification of Seed Stands

Seed Stand is a tree stand with superior phenotypic characters. The criteria that are used for the selection of Plus trees are used for the selection of Seed Stands as well. The goal is to meet the requirement of seed. A Seed Stand can be selected either in natural forests or in plantations.

In Karnataka 3996.27 ha of Seed Stand for 52 economically important species have been identified. Majority of the existing Seed Stands are of Tectona grandis, Hardwickia binata , Acacia auriculiformis and Casuarina equisetifolia. A study was undertaken to study Teak Seed Stands of the state in collaboration with Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore . The study suggests that Teak Seed Stands require intensive silvicultural operations for better seed production.

1.3 Seed orchards

A Seed Orchard is a plantation of genetically superior trees isolated to reduce pollination from genetically inferior outside sources, and intensively managed to produce frequent, abundant, easily harvested seeds. It is established by setting out clones or seedling progeny of trees, selected for certain, desired characteristics. There are two types of Seed orchards viz;

• Seedling Seed Orchards (SSO): Seedling Seed Orchards are raised from seedlings, which are produced from selected parents through natural or controlled pollinations.

• Clonal Seed Orchard (CSO): Clonal Seed Orchards are raised from selected clones, which are propagated through grafting, cutting, air layering or tissue culture.

In the state 752.11 ha of Seedling Seed Orchards of 55 species and 1642.79 ha of Clonal Seed Orchards of 27 species have been established.

Details of some species

1.1 Tectona grandis ( Teak)

Teak is one of the important timber species planted on a large scale in the state. So far 569 Plus trees of Teak have been identified at different locations of the state. Tree improvement works in Teak started in 1975 and till date 354.99 ha of Clonal Seed Orchards and 32.81 ha of Seedling Seed Orchards have been established. All the 50 Plus trees of Teak identified with the help of FRI, Deharadun have been multiplied through bud grafting and planted in CSOs in different locations for seed collection and further multiplication.

Apart from CSOs the Department has undertaken establishment of National clonal germ plasm banks. They are at Janganamatti in Belgaum ( 1.60 ha ) and at Thittimatti in Kodagu ( 0.25 ha ) with 218 clones from several states. The CSOs and germ plasm banks were established in late 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the Clonal Seed Orchards have started flowering and producing seed. It is observed that there is no synchronization in flowering among various clones planted in the CSOs. This aspect needs further study.

On a good site we get an average of 50 kg of seeds per ha from CSOs. Low yield of seeds needs to be studied. We also need to establish more CSOs of Teak in order to meet the requirement of good quality seed. Teak CSOs that have been established in the wet zone of the state are not yielding enough quantity of seeds. Therefore, since last two years CSOs of Teak have been established in the transitional dry zone of the state. The assumption is that such CSOs will produce more quantity of seeds.

TELI VARIETY OF Teak

A variety of Teak called Teli variety is planted in Uttara Kannada district near Hudsa in Haliyal division. It has smooth and shiny leaves. It has lesser proportion of white wood and more of heartwood, which is darker in color than the common Teak. The bole of Teli Teak is more cylindrical than that of common Teak and the bark is smooth and dull colored. Teli Teak trees are believed to grow faster, come to leaf earlier in the season, have stronger timber and higher oil content than the common Teak trees.

Silviculturist, Northern Zone, Dharwad had established trial plots of Teli Teak at Sakrebyle in Shimoga division in the year 1976 over an extent of 0.5 ha by stump planting and in 1977 by pre-sprouted polybag seedlings over an area of 1.7 ha . Growth measurements at the end of 25 th year in the 1976 plantation indicated mean annual girth increment of 3.04cm as against the normal girth increment of 1.9cm. Similarly, in case of height the increment was 70cm as against the normal height increment of 60cm. The corresponding value for 1977 plantation is 2.6cm and 80cm at the end of twenty-three years.

1.2 Tamarindus indica (Tamarind)

Tamarind is a very important species especially for agro forestry practices in the dry zone of Karnataka. At present productivity of Tamarind is low. Therefore, Tamarind tree improvement work on a large scale has been undertaken in the state. So far 720 Plus trees have been identified at different locations of the state. Most of the Plus trees have been propagated in CSOs and Clonal Bank. A total of 654.08 ha of CSOs, 145.15 ha of SSOs and 16.62 ha of Clonal Banks have been established for seed collection, evaluation and multiplication.

Most of the clones start flowering and fruiting in CSOs from the 6 th year. In the year 1986 a CSO was established at Gungargatti near Dharwad. After evaluation, 6 clones were found to be promising and therefore recommended for mass multiplication and distribution. In Central zone, Bangalore , 9 clones and in Eastern zone, Bellary , 10 clones have been identified for large-scale multiplication and distribution to the farmers.

Out of the clones recommended above, it is heartening to note that clones NTI-19 and Halebijjanabella are bearing regularly. The yield is also found to be high.

Red pulp Tamarind trees are rare and are fast disappearing. Traditionally, the red pulp has been used as medicine and as coloring agent in food preparations. Red pulp Tamarind trees identified in Dharwad, Badami, Bidar, Bellary and Bangalore have been planted in germ plasm banks at different locations of the state for further multiplication.

1.3 Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jack fruit)

So far 479 Plus trees have been identified at different locations of the state. A total of 57.56 ha of SSOs and 54.71 ha of CSOs have been established. The following clones have been recommended for mass multiplication because of high yield and good quality fruits.

Tamarind Clones recommended for large scale multiplication

1.4 Emblica officinalis (Nelli)

In the state 112 Plus trees have been identified. A total of 57.04 ha of SSOs and 126.39 ha of CSOs have been established in different locations of the state. This includes Sureban Nelli , clones from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and Pune in Maharashtra . Further, in the year 1998-99 varieties from Faizabad were procured and clonal banks were established. Clones from Faizabad viz; NA-6, NA-7, NA-10, Krishna , Kanchan & Chakaiya are promising and they have big fruits weighing between 30 to 50 grams .

Jackfruit Clones recommended for mass multiplication

Sl.No	Name of zone	Clones recommended for mass multiplication
1	Northern Zone	Table varieties
		NAH-10, NAH-14, NAH-30, NAH-87, NAH-98, Gungargatti-4, Khanapur-1, Khanapur-2 and Thirthahalli-3
		Culinary purpose
		NAH-2, NAH-99, NAH-10, Kadabagatti-1, Gungargatti-2 and Thirthahalli-1
2	Central Zone	Table varieties
		Thubugere (Doddaballapura tq), Janigere (Magadi tq), Manipura (Gubbi tq), Marangare (Gubbi tq), Tamaka farm (Kolar) & Gumless jack (Puttur)
		Culinary purpose
		M.M.Far, Bangalore, Bethani, Kolar
3	Southern Zone	Table varieties
		Nagavala-1 , Gangothri-2, Gongothri-3, Gongothri-4

1.5 Anacardium occidentale (Cashew)

Cashew is an important cash crop of the state and evaluation of suitability of different varieties for different locations assumes importance. A total of 107.62 ha of CSOs have been established. Clones from Central Cashew Research Institute Ullal, Ullal 1-4 and Vengularla 2,4 and 6 were procured and planted in clonal orchards. Apart from the above, BLA, M-10/4, Anagha, Aksaya, MDK-2 and Sulabha have been procured for establishing clonal banks. In Thirthahalli, Ullal-2 and Ullal-4 are performing better than Vengularla varieties. In Central Zone, Ullal-2, Chinthamani-1 and NRCC-1 were found to be promising .

1.6 Santalum album (Sandal)

Sandal is an important valuable tree of the state. It is important to preserve and improve sandal trees since many artisans and cottage industries depend upon sandalwood. So far 72 Plus trees have been identified and 7.39 ha of SSOs have been established in the state. They are at Gungargatti (Dharwad), Navatoor (Shimoga) and Jarakbande ( Bangalore ). Plants started flowering and fruiting from the 4 th year.

1.7 Syzygium cumini (Jamun)

Based on quality and quantity of fruits, 162 Plus trees have been identified. A total of 44.15 ha of CSOs have been established. Clonal orchards established at Devabal and Gungargatti, in Northern Zone have started bearing fruits.

1.8 Feronia elephantum (Bela)

Feronia elephantum, an edible fruit is also used in traditional medicine. So far 145 Plus trees have been identified. A total of 33.50 ha of SSOs and 39.97 ha of CSOs have been established. The trees started bearing fruits in some patches of CSOs of Shimoga and Dharwad. However, in Bangalore , insects have affected the plants and the results are not encouraging.

1.9 Mangifera indica (Mango)

Appemidi mango is only used for making pickle. Since fruits are harvested at an early stage, propagation through seed is difficult. Therefore tree improvement work in Appemidi has been taken-up. So far 84 Plus trees have been identified and clonal orchards to an extent of 21.33 ha have been established. In Northern zone, growth of Ananthabhatta Appemidi is promising. Though flowering has taken place in the last four years, fruiting has not been observed in any of the clones. However, fruiting is observed in Central Zone at Sulikere.

Selected wild mango collections and well-known varieties were planted in 4.00 ha and 0.55 ha in Central Zone and Northern Zone respectively.

1.10 Garcinia indica & Garcinia cambogia

Garcinia indica and Garcinia cambogia are important NTFP trees of evergreen forests and semi-evergreen forests of Western Ghats of the state. In coastal Karnataka the fruits of Garcinia cambogia are used as a substitute for Tamarind for preparation of curry. It is also in demand for its medicinal properties mainly for controlling obesity. Pulp of Garcinia indica is used for making Kokum syrup and the seed yield Kokum butter. So far 129 Plus trees of Garcinia cambogia and 128 candidate Plus trees of Garcinia indica have been identified and 7.85 ha of CSOs have been established. It is important to note that Garcinia indica is a dioecious plant, which bears male and female flowers on different trees. Hence, it is advisable to plant both male and female plants in 1:10 ratio for proper fruiting.

1.11 Azadirachta indica (Neem)

Azadirachta indica is the species of choice for afforestation of dry zone areas and in farm forestry. Farmers have been planting Neem tree on their farm bunds as an agro forestry practice since time immemorial. Therefore tree improvement in terms of getting better timber and seed yield assumes a lot of importance. So far 185 Plus trees have been identified. A total of 15.00 ha SSOs and 36.28 ha of CSOs have been established. Further, in view of the short viability of seeds, efforts have been made to identify trees, which flower and fruit during off-season in order to meet the requirement of seeds throughout the year. Excellent fruiting has been observed in CSO established in the year 1994 at Kumbarkere near Badami in Northern Zone.

1.12 Semecarpus anacardium (Kadu Geru)

Semecarpus anacardium is one of the important NTFP species found both in natural forests and in farmers' fields. In order to improve the species through good quality seed, so far 265 Plus trees have been identified. A total of 12.72 ha SSOs have been established. Plants have started flowering and fruiting, and their evaluation is being done. Growth performance is better in Eastern Zone compared to other zones.

GERM PLASM BANK

Germ plasm banks are established by multiplying phenotypically and genetically superior parents by vegetative methods. This is done to preserve the genetic base of the species. These clonal banks form valuable source of superior genetic material for future multiplication.

Germ plasm banks of several economically important species were assembled in the state from different parts of the country. The total area under Germ plasm banks is 68.94 ha .

National Teak Germ Plasm Banks at Janganamatti and Thithimathi were established between the years 1983 and 1985. In all 218 clones from nine states were assembled through grafts and planted at a spacing of 4m x 4m. In a family, 5 ramets of each clone were planted. The details of the clones are as under.

Andhra Pradesh	2	Uttar Pradesh	30
Karnataka	50	Madhya Pradesh	04
Kerala	38	Maharashtra	16
Orissa	06	Gujarat	36
Tamil Nadu	17	Total clones	218.

Field trial of tissue culture PLANTLETS

In collaboration with National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and with assistance from National Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB), a project was undertaken to observe the performance of tissue culture plantlets of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus tereticornis , Dendrocalamus strictus and Tectona grandis. The main object of the project was to assess the feasibility of using tissue-culture plantlets of tree species for large-scale plantations.

In the case of Teak, it is NC-21, which is performing well with an average plant height of 3.45m and girth of 16.23cm compared to seed origin plants of 1994 plantation at Dandeli. In all the four locations, data collected is found to be inconsistent and therefore needs to be observed for a few more years.

The observation recorded in case of Eucalyptus camaldulensis shows that there is no significant difference in plant height and girth between different clones and seed origin plants even after six years. The maximum plant height obtained in APFDC R3 clone at Gungargatti was 5.80m and girth of 12.90cm after six years. This is very less compared to Bhadrachalam clones. Performance of Eucalyptus tereticornis plantations is also not good and there is no significant difference in plant height and girth between different plantlets and seed origin plants.

Bamboo plants obtained from tissue culture method have not performed well in all the locations. The number of culms, internode length and girth of each culm are better in case of seedling origin plants than tissue culture plantlets. There is an average of 19 culms in seed origin plants as compared to 15 culms in tissue culture plantlets. The girth of culms in case of seedling origin plants is 11cm as compared to 8.00cm in tissue culture plantlets. Another important observation is that the appearance of culms in tissue culture plantlets is bushy and zigzag.

Progeny trials

The purpose of progeny trial is to estimate the genetic value of an individual on the basis of the behavior of its offspring and also to estimate the genetic value of the individual's half-siblings or full-siblings.

In order to screen the Plus trees to get superior and selected germ plasm for specific characters, progeny trial plots have been established. Further, there is an immediate need to establish second-generation orchards in Teak and other timber and fruit yielding species to know the genetic worth of Plus trees. In the state 32.5 ha of progeny trial plots of seven species have been established.

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