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Amit Walia , J. C. Kaushik , O. P. Toky

Abstract

A. two years survey of Dalbergia sissoo plantations in arid zone of Haryana, India revealed nearly 29% mortality of D. sissoo trees, being maximum among roadside plantations. The medium girth class (50-100 cm) trees exhibited maximum mortality and most of declined trees were prone to water stress conditions. Nearly 25% declined trees had calcareous pan in their ischolar_main zone. The analysis of soil physico-chemical properties beneath healthy and declined trees exposed significantly high pH and electrical conductivity in sites having declined sissoo trees. While N, P, K, Mg contents of soil were recorded significantly higher beneath healthy trees. Significant reduction in the amount of N, P, K and Fe accumulation in foliage of declined trees as compared to healthy trees was also observed.

Keywords

Dalbergia sissoo, Mortality, Edaphic Factors, Arid Zone, Haryana

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K. Bimlendra , O. P. Toky

Abstract

A new technique was adopted for transplanting six month old seedlings in the field with salinity EC > 12dSm^-1, in which the polybag carrying the seedling was removed from the base, while the whole of the polybag was retained as such, in six species viz. Eucalyptus tereticornis, Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo, Ailanthus excelsa, Azadirachta indica and Prosopis cineraria. The transplantation was carried out post monsoon in September instead of rainy season (July). Most of the species showed a significantly high percentage of survival (52-85%) in the highly saline conditions. Although, Dalbergia sissoo and Eucalyptus tereticornis attained the maximum growth in terms of height (130 cm, 93 cm, respectively) and biomass (36.5 g ,19.1g , respectively) in the field after 6 months, yet the ischolar_main and shoot weight ratio (2-folds) of Prosopis cineraria was the highest among all the species studied; the higher survival rate was due to maximum accumulation of biomass in the ischolar_main zone (5.3 g/ plant).This is an adaptive feature for survival in harsh environmental conditions. The technique can assure good survival even in tree species which are reported to be sensitive to salts such as Dalbergia sissoo and Azadirachta indica, while the survival and growth of other salt- tolerant tree species viz. Prosopis cineraria and Acacia nilotica could be enhanced. Hence, this new technique can be used effectively to ensure initial survival and establishment of tree seedlings in saline arid conditions.

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S. Arya , O. P. Toky

Abstract

Acacia nilotica ssp. Indica, an important agroforestry tree occurs extensively on farmlands throughout semi-arid India. The seeds of 50 'plus' trees were collected from 5 states of Central India (21°14' N to 29°59' N lat., 72°38' E to 85°20' E long., 55 m to 655 m alt.), and studies on seed germination in polybags and growth in nursery beds and in field were carried out at the campus of Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar located in North-western India (29°10 N' lat., 75°46' E long., 215 m alt.). The seed weight of 50 plus trees ranged from 12.1 g to 21.5 g/100 seeds and seed germination from 27 to 86 per cent. Weight of the seed was significantly and positively correlated with longitude (r = 0.525, p<0.01), altitude (r = 0.431, p<0.01) and rainfall (r =0.497, p<0.01). The correlation with latitude was however, insignificant. The growth of 18 months old plants in the nursery varied significantly (P<0.05) among 10 mother plants of each state and also between states. The height of the plants ranged from 1.4 m of GJ-4 to 3.1 m of BH-4, the collar diameter from 11 mm of GH-4 to 19 mm of HR-7 and the dry weight of plant from 465 g/plant of GJ-4 to 1009 g/plant of BH-4. Two seed sources of Haryana i.e. HR-5 and HR- 6 showed exceptionally superior growth in all its 10 progenies. Similar trends were observed for plants growth in the field. The wide variability in A. nilotica ssp. indica is of great significance in selection of better genotypes, and further establishment of seed orchard.

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Bal Krishan , O. P. Toky

Abstract

Twenty one provenances of Acacia nilotica ssp. Indica collected from 11°N to 31°N Latitude and 19 m to 650 m altitude in India were grown at Hisar, in arid India. There were significant variations (P<0.05) in stem height, branch, leaf and spine growth characters among the provenances at 6- and 23- month stage after transplantation. The ranking of superiority changed for most of the characters with advancement in age. In general, provenances from North-Western and Central India were found to be superior than those from South India. Variation in growth characters were random as they did not show any significant relation with latitude of origin seed source.

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Avtar Singh , O. P. Toky , G. P. S. Dhillon

Abstract

The study was conducted by transplanting one and half month old seedlings of six progenies, three each of Eucalyptus tereticornis and E. camaldulensis, in the pots filled with eight levels of artificially created soil salinity levels (ECe) i.e. control, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 dSm^-1. The experiment was conducted by following completely randomized design with three replications. The data on plant height, collar diameter and number of leaves per plant were recorded after 90 days of study. All the growth parameters of both the species recorded significant differences among salinity treatments. The maximum values were recorded in control and the lowest values were found at salinity level of ECe 14 dSm^-1 . Significant genetic variation was noticed in both the species for all the growth parameters. E. camaldulensis recorded significantly higher growth traits than respective values of E. tereticornis.

Keywords

Eucalyptus Tereticornis, E. Camaldulensis, Salinity, Genetic Variation, Growth Traits

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