Thinnings-reconsidered

It is essential at each thlnning operation to retain only a specified number of stems per unit area, keeping in view the site quality and the size of the crop. It is not possible to maintain any standard of exactness by resorting to procedures based on the qualitative classification of trees, of their crowns or of their heights. Instead, it is essential that the number of trees required to be retained at each thinning operation is determined mathematically and in advance. For this purpose it is necessary to study the growth behaviour of the crops of the various species growing on various site qualities with respect to different thinning treatments for meeting various management requirements. An effort has been made to enumerate tbe more important aspects of growth, patterns and market and financial aspects of the industry of growing trees which would affect the intensity or periodicity of thlnnings. It is expected that experiments carried out, keeping these important considerations in view, will help us to find our way out of the present dark jungle of confusion that has been steadily growing round the subject all these years.