A Record Breaking Achievement HIGHEST TREE BIOMASS POWER

Melia dubia A miracle tree

August 31 2011

2 year old Melia dubia rain-fed plantation

6 year old 115cm girth plus tree in the authors farm at Andiyur, Tamil Nadu.

Last month, on May, 27th, in a remote village called as Chennampatti, in Bhavani Taluk of Erode District, TAMIL NADU, a group of hardworking, innovative farmers have created a national record of having harvested about 29.8 Metric tonnes of Wood from an only one year old plantation raised by them from one acre of land.

One year old Melia dubia (Mongrel population) on formers land at Chennampatti.

26.05.2011 Honble Minister for agriculture Tamil Nadu, Mr.Sengottian with the author witnessing the yield of 29.648tonnes per acre in one year old plantation raised by the farmers under 5mt 5mt espacement with 1744 trees per acre. The fact that the plantation has been raised only from the seeds obtained from random population and not of clonal propagules may be noted.

The author with the farmers who had raised these Melia dubia plots under his guidance.

Differing densities of trees per acre from 10,000/acre to 600/acre were planted a year ago in the farmers land to find out the maximum yield and the appropriate age of harvest.

Farmer Mr.Natchimuthu with One year old Melia dubia planted along with Casuraina. Melia is 4 times fast growing than Casurina

The record created is from the plot containing 1744 trees/acre harvested just after one year after planting. The yield of about 30

tonnes per acre, of woody Biomass is obtained from planting seedlings raised from seeds, due to which they have exhibited lot of variation in height, and thickness of the individual trees in its population.

Dr.G.Kumaravelu, explaining to the farmers about the variation in size of the same one year old Melia dubia population. Note the striking difference in the size of one year old tree. Clones of such best trees from these plots are being produced. They have the capability to yield about 50tonnes per acre per year.

The highest girth attained by few trees were between 40cm to 45 cm, whereas, the minimum were less than 10 cm girth, the average girth being 15 to 20 cm. Dr. G. Kumaravelu, a former Indian Forest Service Officer and former Full Time Member, State Planning Commission, Tamil Nadu Government who is a well known Forest and Tree Scientist in INDIA, was the driving force behind the record. He was responsible for introducing

this wonderful, fast growing, native tree species for demonstration and utilization by the farmers. He was one of the pioneers in Tamil Nadu

Forest Department in having introduced a successfully running scheme known as Tree Planting in Private Lands. Having spotted the admirable rate of growth of this species Melia Dubia, known as Malai vembu in

Tamil, decades back, he though it could be a winning horse along with few more tree race horses like Gmelina arborca (Kumil); Anthocephalus Cadamba (Kadmbamaram), Acrocarpus fraxinifolins (Nallarai); Grewia tiliaefolia (Thadasu); Cedrella toona; Pterocarpus santalinus Red

sanders); Khaya senegalensis (African mahogany) and of course the legendary Tectona grandis (Teak), to bring a victorious economical achievements to the farmers. He is proposing an innovative Cogeneration of Food and Wood scheme that could enhance the income from protective irrigated and rain fed farmers of Tamil Nadu by appropriate mix of species to be planted as Bund Planting or Block planting or as a Scattered Tree Model. The remarkable endurance attributes of these trees, which are

capable of withstanding the vagaries of Nature, like droughts and floods, unseasonal rains and global warming, makes them an ideal insurance. Many of the species of trees mentioned above are fast growing and could be harvested early, as early as 1 to 10 years, as in the case of Melia dubia, which could be encashed from one year onwards, with enhanced income per acre per year, increasing and escalating year after year till the 10th year and beyond. According to Dr. G. Kumaravelu, from the plus trees of fastest

growing Melia dubia and Gmelina arborea, that he had selected from among the existing population of this species found in Tamil Nadu,

clones are being produced by vegetative propagation method by Tamil Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL). He had initiated this, two years

back, while being an adviser to the plantation programmes of the Tamil Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL), a largest paper producing Mill in Tamil Nadu. The clones of Melia dubia will be released by TNPL from month of October 2011 onwards, to coincide with the onset of North East monsoon planting season. Trees to be raised from these superior clones, can yield 70 to 80 tonnes after 2 years, under fertile soils under fertigation, according to Dr. G. Kumaravelu. This could not only be a National Record, but could

match the top ranking records of the Rapid turn over plantations of the WORLD. The remarkable utility values of this species have been

investigated by Dr. G. Kumaravelu. Woody Biomass harvested from 1 year and above can be used for electricity production either through Biomass Gassifier Technology or through the conventional thermal power plants which generate steam that turns turbines to produce electricity. The calorific value of this species is about 3860 per gram

which is better than Lignite and Baggase. The wood obtained from 1 to 2 year old trees were found to be of excellent utility value as Biomass

fuel, both for gassifier and thermal steam, with lesser ash content (2.88%) and higher fixed carbon content. The samples of trees of sizes over 45 cm girth, that were harvested in 2 and 3 year old plantations, grown by the farmers at Chennampatti, where sent by Dr. G. Kumaravelu to the Tamil Nadu Matchwood Association President, Mr. Magesh and earlier to Mr. Rajan, Managing Director of a leading Match industry in Gudiatham and they found this tree as admirably suitable for match splints and comparable to the well known populus wood (populous deltoidis). A price or

Rs.4000 per tonne can only be a under estimation. The monthly requirement of wood for Matches in Tamil Nadu alone, is around 1 lakh tonnes/month. There exists, as on today, a total mismatch between Therefore,

demand and supply and the demand is ever increasing.

here lies, a win-win situation for the farmers and the industries. To start with, Dr. G. Kumaravelu, recommends that 1000 to 1500 trees per acre can be planted, depending on the nature of soil, availability of water and facility for fertigation. Each tree needs 300

grams of Nitrogen and 200 grams of Phosphorous per year. If harvested after 1 to 2 years, an yield of 40 to 70 tonnes of woody Biomass per acre could be harvested, that could fetch a minimum prize of Rs.2500 to 3000 per tonne. This could be used by factories to produce Electricity and Biochar. The Biochar of Melia dubia

of 2 year old trees were got analysed by Dr. G. Kumaravelu through the user industries and Tamil Nadu Agri unit and where reported to be most acceptable. Biochar recovery is 35% to 40% and rated as very good. Even, as an activated carbon they were found to be on par with the best of the woods used for that purpose as on today, he says. The

price of Biochar per tonne is between Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 and Activated Charcoal, more than Rs.40,000 depending on its activation. The remarkable capacity of this species to resprout from the stumps after wood is harvested, lessens the cost of uprooting and replanting. For a minimum of 5 to 6 times (rotations) they could be That is a distinct

kept on harvesting in this manner, he says. advantage.

About 200 trees per acre can be left to grow for 6 to 8 years, by which time they will put on a girth of 100 to 150 cm, with a clear bole height of 6 to 10 meters and each such tree will fetch a revenue of Rs.5000 to Rs.10,000 depending on its size. The plywood industries in India are also experiencing acute shortage of peelable round wood, and the annual sale of plywood products in INDIA are soaring up every year, from the last years over Rs.40000 crores value sales. Dr. G. Kumaravelu says, he had got the farmers grown wood tested by kitply, Uniply Industries, Chennai and Hunsply Industries at Hunsur, Karnataka and also by the Government of Indias Indian Plywood Research Institute at Bangalore and it was acceptable to all of

them, both as core veneer and Face veneer, depending on the age and size of the trees. Mr. Vaugh, M.D. of the Hunsur Plywood Industry, an expert in the utilization of Melia wood, had stated that this wood could be rated as one of the few, best, top ranking group of woods used all over the world for plywood. Therefore, Indian farmers have a bright prospects, if

Industries start exporting the products of this species to other countries. Investigative, inventive and innovative wood based research carried out in parts of developed countries are pointing out great potential and prospects for using such woody biomass as a substitute for coal in the form of Biocoal or Green coal; Ethanol and Biochar and Activated Charcoal. Bioplastics could also be the immediate substitute for the chemical plastics and these woods could be a good raw materials for Bio-plastics. Melia dubia wood, apart from the futuristic uses

mentioned above, could of immediate use in packing industries, Pencil and Match splint industry, Paper pulp, Medium Density Fibre Board (MDF), Particle Board and Compressed Wood product industries. The Government of India and all the State Governments are very much concerned about enhancing the contribution of primary sector, (Land and Land Based Assets) to the economy, which have witnessed a retarded, restrained growth in the 11th Five Year Plan. To lift the Primary sector from the Treadmill and place on Escalator, the Governments should stipulate enabling industrial policy to increase the

percentage of industries that use Biotic components as their raw material to a targeted higher level. At present, most of the industries existing are exclusively and primarily using abiotic components like Chemicals and Metals as their raw materials. The targeted increase in Biotic raw material consuming industries will be effecting a pulling effect on the primary sector up in the ladder, helping in enhancing its contribution to GDP. The consequent product

consumption and export will also enhance the Secondary and tertiary sector performance. The most important contribution is that it could increase the income to farmers, both small and big, in a sustainable manner. Not only the money generation, but the downstream This alone

employment generation also could develop the rural areas.

can stop the exodus of destitute people, desperately to the urban, concrete jungle conglomerates, thus adding to stress and pollution. The more affluent a society becomes, it becomes more effluent. If, trees to

be planted outside the forests are not just imagined as a jungle, and are intelligently and judiciously utilized as an economically viable,

ecologically empathetic, environmentally ameliorative and aesthetically acceptable, adoptable alternatives, not only prosperity to rural

populations could be assured but also could exemplify as an effective solutions to the pollutions. The trees also will exemplify as habitats for the Birds and Bats, that will effect tremendous biological control of pests and pathogens, thus reducing the use of fungicides and pesticides in the

Agri-ecosystem. The trees also would sequester more carbon from the atmosphere, thus helping in mitigating the Global warming ill effects. In coming years, if the carbon emission is not contained to the present level of 380 ppm, Carbon Farming will become a reality to curtain the Global Warming. Accepting the fact that in States like Tamil Nadu, where, out of 125 lakh acres of cultivable lands, more than 40 to 50 lakh acres remain, wasted lands being unutilized or underutilized because of various reasons like input cost escalation, output cost stagnation, decreasing farm labour availability with increasing wage rates, failing unseasonal rainfall. Planting 50 crores Fast Wood species which are

with less branches, less competitive and more complementary to food crops, and are required by industries, to be phased out in 5 years, in Bund Planting, Cogeneration of Food and Wood model, will generate about Rs.10,000 to 15,000 crores per year, additional income to the presently annually generated, approximately Rs.36,000 crore by the Primary Sector of economy of Tamil Nadu. Thus, it can increase the

primary sector contribution to economy of Tamil Nadu more than 30% in few years and which will be sustainable in future also. The

consumption and conversion of these Fast woods to products will also increase the secondary and tertiary sector contribution to the GDP of the State.

Thus, there is an enormous scope to use the Fast Woods as a fulcrum and a Magic Bullet for the Rural Development in INDIA in the 12th Five Year Plan to be launched, according to Dr. G. Kumaravelu.

TREES AS FULCRUM FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Dr. G. Kumaravelu, I.F.S. (Retd.) Former Full Time Member, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai-600 005.

Last month, on May, 27th, in a remote village called as Chennampatti, in Bhavani Taluk of Erode District, TAMIL NADU, a group of hardworking, innovative farmers have created a national record of having harvested about 29.8 Metric tonnes of Wood from an only one year old Melia dubia (Malai vembu in Tamil) a fastest growing tree plantation raised by them from one acre of land. Differing densities of trees per acre from 10,000/acre to 600/acre were planted a year ago in the farmers land to find out the maximum yield and the appropriate age of harvest. The record created is from the plot containing 1744 The NATIONAL

trees/acre harvested just after one year after planting.

RECORD yield of about 30 tonnes per acre, of woody Biomass is obtained from planting seedlings raised from seeds, due to which they have exhibited lot of variation in height, and thickness of the individual trees in its population. The highest girth attained by few trees were

between 40cm to 45 cm, whereas, the minimum were less than 10 cm girth, the average girth being 15 to 20 cm. If clones of the biggest trees are planted, it may yield 40 to 50 tonnes per acre per year, which can become a World Record. The samples of trees Melia dubia of sizes over 45 cm girth, that were harvested in 2 and 3 year old plantations, grown by the farmers at Chennampatti, where sent by Dr. G. Kumaravelu to the Tamil Nadu Matchwood Association President, Mr. Magesh and earlier to Mr. Rajan, Managing Director of a leading Match industry in Gudiatham and they found this tree as admirably suitable for match splints and comparable to the well known populus wood (populous deltoidis). A price or

Rs.4000 per tonne can only be a under estimation. The monthly requirement of wood for Matches in Tamil Nadu alone, is around 1 lakh tonnes/month. There exists, as on today, a total mismatch between Therefore,

demand and supply and the demand is ever increasing.

here lies, a win-win situation for the farmers and the industries. Few more tree race horses like Gmelina arborca (Kumil); Anthocephalus Cadamba (Kadmbamaram), Acrocarpus fraxinifolins

(Nallarai); Grewia tiliaefolia (Thadasu); Cedrella toona; Pterocarpus santalinus Red sanders); Khaya senegalensis (African mahogany) and of course the legendary Tectona grandis (Teak), to bring a victorious economical achievements to the farmers.

He is proposing an innovative Cogeneration of Food and Wood scheme that could enhance the income from protective irrigated and rain fed farmers of Tamil Nadu by appropriate mix of species to be planted as Bund Planting or Block planting or as a Scattered Tree Model. The remarkable endurance attributes of these trees, which are

capable of withstanding the vagaries of Nature, like droughts and floods, unseasonal rains and global warming, makes them an ideal insurance. Many of the species of trees mentioned above are fast growing and could be harvested early, as early as 1 to 10 years, as in the case of Melia dubia, which could be encashed from one year onwards, with enhanced income per acre per year, increasing and escalating year after year till the 10th year and beyond. To start with, Dr. G. Kumaravelu, recommends that 1000 to 1500 trees per acre can be planted, depending on the nature of soil, availability of water and facility for fertigation. Each tree needs 300

grams of Nitrogen and 200 grams of Phosphorous per year. If harvested after 1 to 2 years, an yield of 40 to 70 tonnes of woody Biomass per acre could be harvested, that could fetch a minimum prize of Rs.2500 to 3000 per tonne. This could be used by factories to produce Electricity and Biochar. The Biochar of Melia dubia of 2 year old trees were got analysed by Dr. G. Kumaravelu through the user industries and Tamil Nadu Agri unit and where reported to be most

acceptable. Biochar recovery is 35% to 40% and rated as very good. Even, as an activated carbon they were found to be on par with the best of the woods used for that purpose as on today, he says. The

price of Biochar per tonne is between Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 and Activated Charcoal, more than Rs.40,000 depending on its activation. The remarkable capacity of this species to resprout from the stumps after wood is harvested, lessens the cost of uprooting and replanting. For a minimum of 5 to 6 times (rotations) they could be That is a distinct

kept on harvesting in this manner, he says. advantage.

About 200 trees per acre can be left to grow for 6 to 8 years, by which time they will put on a girth of 100 to 150 cm, with a clear bole height of 6 to 10 meters and each such tree will fetch a revenue of Rs.5000 to Rs.10,000 depending on its size. The plywood industries in India are also experiencing acute shortage of peelable round wood, and the annual sale of plywood products in INDIA are soaring up every year, from the last years over Rs.40000 crores value sales. Dr. G. Kumaravelu says, he had got the farmers grown wood tested by kitply, Uniply Industries, Chennai and Hunsply Industries at Hunsur, Karnataka and also by the Government of Indias Indian Plywood Research Institute at Bangalore and it was acceptable to all of them, both as core veneer and Face veneer, depending on the age and size of the trees.

Mr. Vaugh, M.D. of the Hunsur Plywood Industry, an expert in the utilization of Melia wood, had stated that this wood could be rated as one of the few, best, top ranking group of woods used all over the world for plywood. Therefore, Indian farmers have a bright prospects, if

Industries start exporting the products of this species to other countries. Investigative, inventive and innovative wood based research carried out in parts of developed countries are pointing out great potential and prospects for using such woody biomass as a substitute for coal in the form of Biocoal or Green coal; Ethanol and Biochar and Activated Charcoal. Bioplastics could also be the immediate substitute for the chemical plastics and these woods could be a good raw materials for Bio-plastics. Melia dubia wood, apart from the futuristic uses

mentioned above, could of immediate use in packing industries, Pencil and Match splint industry, Paper pulp, Medium Density Fibre Board (MDF), Particle Board and Compressed Wood product industries. The Government of India and all the State Governments are very much concerned about enhancing the contribution of primary sector, (Land and Land Based Assets) to the economy, which have witnessed a retarded, restrained growth in the 11th Five Year Plan. To lift the Primary sector from the Treadmill and place on Escalator, the Governments should stipulate enabling industrial policy to increase the percentage of industries that use Biotic components as their raw material to a targeted higher level. At present, most of the industries

existing are exclusively and primarily using abiotic components like Chemicals and Metals as their raw materials. The targeted increase in Biotic raw material consuming industries will be effecting a pulling effect on the primary sector up in the ladder, helping in enhancing its contribution to GDP. The consequent product

consumption and export will also enhance the Secondary and tertiary sector performance. The most important contribution is that it could increase the income to farmers, both small and big, in a sustainable manner. Not only the money generation, but the downstream This alone

employment generation also could develop the rural areas.

can stop the exodus of destitute people, desperately to the urban, concrete jungle conglomerates, thus adding to stress and pollution. The more affluent a society becomes, it becomes more effluent. If, trees to

be planted outside the forests are not just imagined as a jungle, and are intelligently and judiciously utilized as an economically viable,

ecologically empathetic, environmentally ameliorative and aesthetically acceptable, adoptable alternatives, not only prosperity to rural

populations could be assured but also could exemplify as an effective solutions to the pollutions. The trees also will exemplify as habitats for the Birds and Bats, that will effect tremendous biological control of pests and pathogens, thus reducing the use of fungicides and pesticides in the Agri-ecosystem. The trees also would sequester more carbon from the atmosphere, thus helping in mitigating the Global warming ill effects.

In coming years, if the carbon emission is not contained to the present level of 380 ppm, Carbon Farming will become a reality to curtain the Global Warming. Accepting the fact that in States like Tamil Nadu, where, out of 125 lakh acres of cultivable lands, more than 40 to 50 lakh acres remain, wasted lands being unutilized or underutilized because of various reasons like input cost escalation, output cost stagnation, decreasing farm labour availability with increasing wage rates, failing unseasonal rainfall. Planting 50 crores Fast Wood species which are

with less branches, less competitive and more complementary to food crops, and are required by industries, to be phased out in 5 years, in Bund Planting, Cogeneration of Food and Wood model, will generate about Rs.10,000 to 15,000 crores per year, additional income to the presently annually generated, approximately Rs.36,000 crore by the Primary Sector of economy of Tamil Nadu. Thus, it can increase the

primary sector contribution to economy of Tamil Nadu more than 30% in few years and which will be sustainable in future also. The

consumption and conversion of these Fast woods to products will also increase the secondary and tertiary sector contribution to the GDP of the State. Thus, there is an enormous scope to use the Fast Woods as a fulcrum and a Magic Bullet for the Rural Development in INDIA in the 12th Five Year Plan to be launched, according to Dr. G. Kumaravelu.