Volume 8 Issue 4 October 2015 Management of Teak Plantations for Better Yield: An African Experience INSIDE THIS ISSUE Nelly Grace Bedijo & Walter Mapanda

Management of Teak Plantations for Better Yield: An 1 The Sawlog Production Grant Scheme (SPGS) African Experience Plot 92 Luthuli Avenue, Bugolobi

ITTO- Biennial Review and Assessment of the 6 P.O. Box 5244, Kampala, Uganda World Timber Situation 2013-2014 Email: [email protected]

Soil fertility characterisation of teak (Tectona grandis 6 L.f.) plantations in Central America Teak is a valuable hardwood with excellent wood properties such

as beauty, strength, durability and hardness; used in a variety of Prices of Plantation Teak Imported to India 7 applications and stands a chance of becoming the world’s most preferred plantation species! According to FAO reports, in the past Editorial 10 years (2005-2014) there has been a significant rise in the

global trade of teak roundwood volume, which was above 1 million In this issue, we bring you an interesting article on m3 on average per year; which is about 3% of the value of global “Teak plantation establishment and management timber trade (Walter Kollert and Przemyslaw Jan Walotek, 2015). for better yield: A case study from Uganda”. The article offers general silvicultural guidelines that As the supply of natural old-growth teak into the world timber might be of interest to growers and plantation market from Asian countries has been drastically reduced; managers and can be replicated in other countries plantation teak from shorter rotations finds it way to meet the in similar site conditions. Another report this time rising demand for teak. Myanmar- the world’s sole supplier of from Latin America, deals with soil fertility natural teak imposed a ban on export of unprocessed logs and characteristics of Central American teak growing implemented forest trade reforms since April 2014. India and countries. A detailed soil profile had been Thailand too have export ban and taken measures to protect their prepared, the abstract of which is given in this natural teak resources much earlier. issue. It is a good source of reference material for those interested to raise teak plantations in that Teak plantations are increasing in area across the globe, for region. Recently, ITTO published the Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situ- example, countries in Africa, South America, Asia and the Pacific. ation 2013-2014 with focus on tropical timber pro- To date, close to 4.346 million ha of teak plantations have been duction and trade. The Review and Assessment of reported in the world, which is significant but given the continuous the World Timber Situation which was published limitation in supply of natural teak, more plantations will definitely annually until 2013 is now brought out biennially. be required to meet the growing demand for teak! The positive As usual, information on teak prices in inter- side of plantations is the fact that growth can be manipulated and national market is also provided in the Bulletin. therefore a shorter rotation of 15 - 25 years for the teak became a reality. To realize this fast growth and high yields from We look forward to receiving articles of interest to plantations, requires dedicated effort. Emphasis should be on use teak growers, traders and researchers to be of improved planting stock, and in addition, timely implementation shared among the teak community. of appropriate silvicultural treatments. Teak is a pioneer species, it does not tolerate competition and it is also a very site specific With warm regards species, and will perform to full potential only if planted on the correct site. This article gives highlights of key silvicultural P.K. Thulasidas TEAKNET Coordinator operations recommended for teak plantations, which growers ought to implement for better yields from their investments.

Site selection: Before planting teak, site selection is a requirement to ascertain the suitability of a given site for teak. This is because teak is very site specific compared to other plantation species and will only thrive if planted on the correct site. With teak, a slight variation in the growth conditions can result in a huge variation in performance of trees. Site selection involves a detailed analysis of the site factors to ascertain sections of the land that have conditions that enable teak to grow in terms of physical and chemical soil properties and climatic factors (mainly rainfall and temperatures). A thorough site selection exercise should be conducted by persons knowledgeable on this subject matter and teak growers should be willing to pay for this service given it determines success or failure of teak plantations. Teak plantations should be limited to site classes I and II for a profitable investment, where class I is highly suitable and class II, suitable.

Pre-plant operations (land preparation, lining out, and pitting): Teak does not tolerate competition. Sites to be planted should be thoroughly cleaned. Land preparation should involve bush clearing and burning (a cool burn!) to reduce the level of the fuel load within the site. This must be followed by a full cover chemical spray with glyphosate. Depending on the scale of planting, lining out and pitting should start well in advance to ensure the site is ready for planting before the onset of rains. A spacing of 3 m by 3 m (stand density of 1111 trees) is ideal since it provides a good balance between establishment and weeding costs. Besides, the high initial stocking of 1111 trees allows for early mortality and provides a chance for selection of trees to remain during thinning operations. Closer spacing (for instance 2.7 m by 2.7 m) increases establishment cost (more seedlings per hectare) while a wider spacing can be adopted where no thinning or few thinning operations are to be conducted and where planting material is of good quality (i.e. when planting clones or improved seed.). In countries like India, closer spacing of 2 x 2 m with an initial planting density of 2500 tress/ha is the usual practice.

Quality pits (25 cm long by 25cm wide by 25 cm deep) will allow seedlings to establish a proper rooting system that ensures survival during the first dry season. During pitting soils should be loosened (break all soil clods). Pits can be left open if planting is closely following and filled back with soils if planting is to be delayed. Leaving the pits open for a long time hardens the walls and retards root extension. Pitting can be combined with the first circle/ring weeding.

Planting operation: Planting of seedlings or stumps can be done once rains have fallen for some time (close to 100 mm have been received in an area). Planted seedlings should be firmed to avoid air pockets forming around roots which may led to wilting of the plants. Container grown seedlings must be between 5 to 20 cm tall from the root collar to the tip of the seedling, at planting time. Stumps should be planted in an upright position (shoot system above ground and the root system into the soil). On sites that are dry or where there is termite problem, stumps can be planted flush to the ground or completely underground (1-2 cm deep). Stumps for plantation establishment should be prepared from 6 - 9 months old seedlings; very young and fragile stumps may not establish well when planted out in the field. Stumps to be planted should be graded to ensure uniformity within the stands. In circumstances where there is a need to start planting early (where rains are erratic) use of water absorbent gel (Aquafix, Stokosorb or Aquasoil) can be explored to stretch the planting window. Stumps planted flush to the ground or completely underground

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 2 of 7 Beating up operation (sometimes referred to as blanking and or gap filling) should be carried out within the same rainy season. Teak is a fast growing species in the initial 10-15 years and to maintain a uniform stand, beating up should be undertaken 2-4 weeks after planting. During procurement of seedlings, an extra 20% should be reserved for this operation. Beating up is recommended at 60 - 80% survival. At percentages lower than this range, a replant is recommended. A teak stand should be well stocked (90% survival rate) to give an opportunity for a good selection during thinning.

Singling: This is a very important operation in stands established using stumps (vegetative propagation). Teak has the ability to coppice; thus from a single stump many shoots sprout. It is important to carry out singling early enough (as soon as it is possible to identify the shoots, < 2 cm). When shoot development is intercepted at an early stage (bud stage), chances for shoots to grow back again is largely reduced. Besides, it is quite easy and cheap to remove them at this stage. Delaying singling results in the development of a meandering pith, (the pith appearing on the surface of sawn timber) which later lowers the quality grade of timber. In addition, delaying singling out will necessitate cutting of shoots with machetes or axes since the shoots will be big then.

Emergence of multiple shoots from teak stumps Singling

Weeding: Teak does not like competition; competition from weeds or any other species will impact negatively on its growth – being a pioneer species. Managing weeds therefore presents a big challenge to teak growers; the rule of thumb is 100% clean weeding till site capture. This can be through a combination of chemical and manual weeding operations. The frequency and intensity is dependent on the type and rate of growth of weeds. In older stands, fuel reduction (burn, slash or both) should be undertaken to minimize damage to stems in the event of wild fires.

Pruning: Pruning is a quality operation done to limit the knotty core to 10 cm diameter. The best approach to pruning in teak is pruning from a diameter of 10 cm, which gives room for the wound healing process by callus formation. To avoid diameter growth to incorporate big branches, timely pruning should be adhered to.

Pruning in teak plantations is more intense compared to other plantation species; in addition to pruning normal branches, epicormic shoots from pruned areas should also be attended to as well. Teak when under stress develops epicormic shoots as well, which develop into branches if not pruned. A hand pruning operation is a cost effective method of dealing with epicormic shoots; this involves nipping off the epicormic shoots by hand, at Pruning operation bud stage.

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 3 of 7 Pruning in teak must be repeated several times in the early stages of growth, clearing 1.5 to 2 cm of the stem at a time. The table below shows the pruning regime for teak plantations. Under an intensive pruning regime, a teak tree at a rotation of 20 years may yield over 60% of the tree volume as merchantable wood, of which over 40% is knot-free volume when pruned up to 6 meters.

Teak pruning regime

Pruning intensity Removal of Branches Removal of epicormic shoots soon after removal of branches Pruning level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Pruning cycle (yrs) 2 3 4 5 6 7 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pruning height (m) 1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 9 1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 9

Some teak trees produce heavy branches, however, there are provenances which are not heavily branched which may reduce pruning requirements. During a pruning operation, all pruned branches should be moved six (6) meters inside the plantation and any cut branches/debris around the trees should be removed to protect trees from fires. Branches pruned should be cut close to the stem bole and the cuts should be clean to avoid stem damage which could be entry points for pathogens. Pruning is advisable during the active growing season so that the wound will be healed quickly and Branch scar healed by callus formation avoided during the rainy season to prevent fungal infestation.

Thinning: Thinning operation is done to manipulate growth, to ensure that huge volumes are achieved within the shortest possible time. Trees within a stand interact and compete with each other and as time progresses, this competition soon turns negative. It’s important to identify when negative competition is about to set in and carry out timely thinning. This is because teak unlike other plantation species, does not respond well to late thinning.

Competition between trees can be measured using basal area i.e. competition can be quantified. Competition usually sets in at basal area above 20 m2/ha. A thinning operation, should bring down this basal area to about 13 m2/ha, to create enough room for growth. In addition to the basal area, other parameters can be used to check the readiness for thinning, for example interlocking of adjacent crowns- too small crowns and absence of light within the compartment (too much shed in the compartment.)

All forking trees, and trees with poorly developed crowns and stems (fluting, buttressing, spiral grains, excessively tapered and scarred stems) should be removed during thinning. Sometimes even good trees have to be removed to create more space for growth. A combination of thinning for space and thinning for quality is recommended. A thinning operation should leave the compartment with evenly distributed trees and small openings in the canopy which will quickly be closed before 3 years.

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 4 of 7 Thinning regime for teak

Thinning lev- Age Dominant Basal area (m2/ha) Basal area (m2/ha) Height Final stand el (Years) Height (m) before thinning after thinning class density (s/ha)

1st thinning 3 7 to 8 20 to 22 13 to 15 Class I 650 4 7 to 8 Class II 8 7 to 8 Class III

2nd thinning 9 14 to 15 20 to 22 13 to 15 Class I 400 10 14 to 15 Class II 12 14 to 15 Class III

3rd thinning 16 20 to 21 20 to 22 13 to 15 Class 1 200 to 250

Harvesting 24 23 - 24 22 Class 1 Clear felling

After the trees are marked for thinning, a thinning control exercise is required. This is done to check the quality of marking undertaken (to correct for under thinning or over thinning!). The thinning control exercise should be done by an independent team. Teak is such a valued timber, often markets for even the small diameter material acquired from thinning is readily available.

Coppicing: Coppice management can be taken as a way of reducing planting costs if the stocking is good and if improved planting material was used at the initial planting. Where a decision has been made on coppice manage- ment, use of chemicals to kill stumps should be avoided, to maintain the stumps alive for the next rotation. Big and lower stumps (< 20 cm height) give healthier and well attached shoots.

Protection and management: Teak is resistant to fires but not fire proof. Frequent fires and or very hot fires will affect the growth and quality of trees immensely. Forest fire management should be planned for, with a clear strategy for monitoring and suppression. It is important to have appropriate structures, equipment/ tools, fire towers, roads and teams for firefighting in place. Teak plantations are also very susceptible to soil erosion and therefore plantations should be developed on undulating and relatively flat sites, any slopes greater than 12o should be avoided for planting.

Undergrowth in teak plantation during dry months SPGS teak plantation

Growers are advised to read relevant publications for further details on recommended teak plantation management practices, notably the Teak Silvicultural Guidelines; electronic copies available at www.sawlog.ug

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 5 of 7 New Releases

ITTO- Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation 2013-2014

ITTO has published the Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Sit- uation 2013-2014, providing the most up-to-date and reliable international sta- tistics available on global production and trade of timber, with an emphasis on the tropics. It also provides information on trends in forest area, forest manage- ment and the economies of ITTO member countries.

This Review reports on developments in the global timber sector and wood markets, with a focus on tropical timber, in 2014. It contains data on production and trade for 2010- 2014 although the year 2013 is used as the base for all glob- al comparisons and ITTO summary totals. This is the latest year for which rea- sonably reliable data for most countries were available at the time of preparation.

To know more about this report, visit the below link Read More

Soil fertility characterisation of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantations in Central America

Jesús Fernández-Moya, Alfredo Alvarado, Rafael Mata, Helga Thiele, Jose Manuel Segura, Ed- win Vaides, Alfonso San Miguel-Ayanz and Miguel Marchamalo-Sacristán

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) is an important species in the worldwide quality tropical hardwood sector, which has gained significance in Central America since the first large plantations were established in the 1980s. The present work is a descriptive study that aims to: (1) analyse and characterise the general soil patterns which may be influencing teak plantations in Central America; (2) assess differences between countries and sub-regions; (3) create a global framework to help contextualise the soil fertility analyses conducted at sub-regional or farm level, and (4) determine the main problems associated with soil fertility in the region. Soil fertility was measured at 684 sites in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama. Although teak is considered to be a species with high soil nutrient requirements, and high fertility is usually assumed in teak plantations, the results show that this species has been planted in a wide variety of soils, including many with serious fertility problems (e.g. Ultisols and perhaps Oxisols) or with added difficulties due to their physical properties (e.g. Vertisols). The present analysis reveals a general K deficiency in the Central American teak plantations, where P deficiency and acidity toxicity are also relatively common problems. These soil fertility problems probably stem from poor site selection by forest managers in the 80s and 90s. Hence, although soil fertility is carefully evaluated when most teak plantations are established today, managers have to deal with soil fertility deficiencies in many sites where teak was established some years ago.

To know more about this paper you can visit the below link Read More

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 6 of 7

Prices of Plantation Teak Imported to India

Country of Origin US$ per cu.m C&F Liberia 265-460 Logs Malaysia 323-516 Angola 459-574 Nicaragua 350-596 Belize 350-400 Panama 253-630 Benin 285-775 PNG 443-575 Brazil 375-724 Sawn wood / Squares Cameroon 401-510 Benin sawn 530-872 Colombia 262-796 Brazil squares 370-680 Congo 451-710 Ecuador squares 313-858 Costa Rica 320-780 Nigeria squares 367-418 Côte d'Ivoire 277-552 El-Salvador 345-934 Variations are based on quality, lengths of logs and the average girth. Ghana 255-757 Guatemala 360-655 Guyana 300-450 Courtesy: ITTO TTM Report : - September Kenya 515-600 Laos 300-605

Editorial Committee

Dr. P.K. Thulasidas Dr. Mammen Chundamannil Dr. E. M. Muralidharan and Dr. S. Sandeep

Teaknet Bulletin is a quarterly electronic newsletter of TEAKNET brought out through its website. It is intended for circulation among the members of TEAKNET and other stakeholders of global teak sector. The views expressed in the newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization. The readers are welcome to express their opinions or pass on information of value to teak growers, traders, researchers or others concerned with teak. However, TEAKNET reserves the right to choose the contributions for publishing and also to make necessary editorial modifications in the articles in consultation with the authors. Address all communications to:

TEAKNET Coordinator Kerala Forest Research Institute Peechi-680 653, Thrissur, Kerala, India Tel: +91 487 2690396 Fax: +91 487 2690111 Email: [email protected]

Teaknet Bulletin 8(4):2015 Page 7 of 7