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InnovationsforraisingMalabarNeem(Meliadubia)inTamil
Nadu,India
Searchthewholesite Summary
ThispracticefocusesonfacilitatingthenurserygerminationandplantationoftheMalabarNeem(Meliadubia),whichislocallyknown
FAOHome
asMalaivembu.ThetreeisfoundinforestplantationsinIndiaandisafastgrowingtreecropwithupto20metersheight.Itproduces
TECAHome greater biomass in relatively shorter period. As the seed has a tough seed coat, that does not allow water to penetrate easily, the
germination becomes rather difficult. By softening the coat of the seed, the germination difficulties can be solved and enable fast
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germination.ThispracticepresentsvaluablecosteffectivemethodsforsmallscalefarmerstoraisetheirownMeliadubiaseedlingsand
ExchangeGroups establishaplantationindependentlyfromseedlingsuppliers.

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Description
FAQ
WhatisMeliadubia?

MalabarNeem(Meliadubia)isatropicaldeciduoustreethatgrowsupto20metersheight.Thetreeisoneofthefastgrowingspecies
underirrigatedconditions.Itcanbeharvestedearlyi.e.within4yearsforplywoodproductionorforpaperindustry.Longtermharvest
beyond715yearsensuresgoodqualitytimberwithadvancingyearsofmaturitythatcanbeusedforconstruction.

Thesoftwoodtreesaresuitableforplywoodproductionandpaperpulpindustry,whichmakethemthefavoritesforfarmerstocultivate
them in Agroforestry systems along with vegetables, groundnut and banana. It will grow best in welldrained fertile soils with ample
moisturesupply.Thetreewillgrowerectwithasingletrunkupto3meter(10ft.)heightormorewithoutbranchingwhenpruningside
shootsornippingthenodalbudsisdone.

AfamercanearnprofitofaboutRs.90,000bygrowing1acreofland(0.4ha)areawithabout1000seedlingsplanted.Thiscorresponds
toayieldof30tonsofwoodperacre/75perhectarerespectively).Intercrops,likegroundnut,greengramorblackgramcanberaised
withintheinterspaceinthefirstyearofplanting.Bananacanbeincludedasacrop,ifMeliadubiaisplantedfortimberpurposewith
widerspacingof56metersbetweenrowsoftheplantedtrees.Intercroppingthetreewithothertreespeciesisnotadvisableasitcould
slowdownthegrowthortheerectnessoftheMalabarNeem,andleadtobending.

Meliadubia is often grown along with other trees such as Teak, Nutmeg and coconut trees to fill the inter space between trees in a
garden.Melia dubia is usually planted within large gaps in the existing garden where other tree species like coconut and teak are
cultivatedtoutilizetheemptyspaceadvantageously.Intercrops,likegroundnut,greengramandblackgramcouldberaisedwithinthe
interspaceinthefirstyearofplanting.

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MainstepsofpreparationofMeliadubiaseedlings

1.Looseningthehardseedcoat

TheMeliadubia seeds have a tough coat that hampers water penetration and germination accordingly. Here it is described, how to
loosentheseedcoattofacilitategermination:

Thefirststepistoloosentheseedcoat.Forthisprocess,theseedshouldbepartiallyrottenordecomposedbyplacingtheseedsin
amoistenedcowdungheap.
Fortheheap,youcancollectdriedcowdungandsprinkleitwithwater.Thenkeepitundershadeforabout2months.Takeabout5
kgofdriedcowdungforthetreatmentofabout2kgofseeds.
Bytestingthesoftnessofthepeel,onecanfindouttheexacttimeforpeelingtheexternalcoatoftheseeds.Usually,itisroughly
about2months.
Whentheouterseedcoatbecomessoft,thecoatcanberemovedandtheinnerhardlayercanbepeeledbymakingthreeshallow
cutslongitudinallyusingaknifetotakeoutthekernels.Theseedslooksimilartosunflowerseeds.
Ineachseed23kernelscanbeextracted.Thisshouldbedoneverycarefully,sothatthereisntanyslightdamagetokernels.The
kernelsshouldthenbedibbledinaseedbed,speciallymadeforhusbandry.

2.Preparationoftheseedbedanddibblingoftheseed

Meliadubiawillgrowwellinfertilesoilswithsufficientmoisturesupply.Preparetheseedbedbymixingredsoilwithfinesand(In
thecaseofTamilNadu).
Dibbletheseedkernelsevenlyandsprinklewatertwiceaday,inthemorningandeveninguniformly.
Covertheseedbedwithpolyspreadsheetastomaintaintheoptimumtemperatureandmoisturefortheseedplantedinside.An
exampleofhowthissocalledmistchambercouldlooklikecanbefoundbelow.

3.Germinationandseedlingtransplantation

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Theseedswillstarttogerminateinabout3monthstimebutonly30%ofthemwillgerminatecompletely(naturalgermination
rate).
Whentheseedlingshavegrowntotwoleafstage(i.e.plantphysiologicalstagewhenthe2nd leafsoftheseedlinghaveemerged
completely),theyareuprootedcarefullywithoutdamagingtherootsystemandplantedintopolythenebagsof15x8cmdimension.
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Thebagsaremadeoutofthermoplasticmaterialandarefilledwithamixofredsoil,finesandandorganicmanure(comparefigure
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1).
Wheneverthereisrain,theexcesswatershouldbedrainedoffthebags.Otherwise,theyoungseedlingsinthepolythenebags
arelikelytorot,duetoexcessivemoistureintherootzone.
Theseedlingswillgrowupto60cmheight(2ft.)inanother30days.Atthatheight,theyarereadytobeplantedinthemainfield.

4.Planthealthmeasuresandirrigation

Toavoid the rotting of the young seedlings in the polythene bags drain off excess water. In case there is a sprinkler system
available,itshouldconsistsofinstalledsprinklertubesthatwillpassonjustabovetheseedlingbags.Theentireseedlingscanalso
beplacedinapolythenesheetcoveredchamberofdimension3x3x3meter(10x10x10ft.),inordertopreventrainwatertoenter
thebags.

PlantingMeliadubiaseedlingsinthemainfield

Firstdigoutapitof60cmcube(2ft.cube).
Leavespaceeither2x2meter(10x10ft.),4,5x4,5meter(15x15ft.)or6x6meter(20x20ft.)between the pits (1000
seedlingsper0.4haforpaperindustryor110seedlingsfortimberpurpose).
Dugpitsmanuallybyusingahandhoeormechanicallybyusinganaugurmountedonatractor.
Fillthepitswithredsoil,finesandandwelldecomposedmanure.
Planttheseedlingsatthecenteruprightandmakesuretopressthesoilwellaroundtheseedlingbase.

Irrigation

Followplantingbylightirrigationonthe3rd dayafterplanting.Thiscouldbedonethroughdripirrigationviainstallationofdrippipes
(compare figure 8). Thereafter, apply light irrigation once in 7 to 10 days (for a guideline how to design and evaluate surface
irrigationsystems,followhttp://www.fao.org/docrep/t0231e/t0231e00.htm#Contents).
Theseedlingswillgrowupbetween1.2meter(4ft.)to1.8m(6ft.)heightinanother4months.
Duringrainyseason,trytopreventtherainwatertostagnatearoundtheseedlings.Drainoffexcesswatereffectively.
Plantingseedlingsattheendoftherainyseasonorsummerisadvisabletoavoidstagnationofrainwaterinthepits.

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Pruning

Prunethebrancheswhentheseedlingsattain2meter(6ft.)height,periodicallyat15daysintervalssothatonestraighttrunkup
to10meter(30ft.)heightcanbeachieved.
Prunethesideshootsornipthenodalbuddingsgrowninbetweenthemaintrunkandthesidebranchesasshowninthepictures
below.

HarvestingproductsfromMeliadubia

After7to12yearsthetreesoffergoodtimber,whichcanbecutandsoldprofitably.
Nowadays,forquickreturn,famersusuallycutthetreesat3yearsofageforsellingthewoodtopaperindustries.Itisestimated
toobtainaround75tons/haofland(30tons/acre).
ThepaperindustryprocuresthewoodatRs.4500/tonusually,famersengagelaborersandpayRs.1500/tonofwoodascutting
andlorrytransportchargestothesiteofthepulpindustryonacontractbasis.
Cut the trees just above the ground level.Then, there will be many side suckers emerging from the basal region of the stem.
Allowingonlyonesuckerfromthetreeclumpistheusualpractice(leavingtheplants)asratooncrop[1].Perennialcropsavoidcosts
forthepreparationofthefieldandadditionalplanting.Continuewiththeirrigation.
Ratoons will grow fast and attain sufficient thickness within short time compared to freshly planted seedlings. Allow three
successive ratoons for optimum production with maximum returns without affecting the productivity or profitability of tree farming.
Leaveonlyonesuckerandremoveothersuckersinonetreeclump.
Nowadaysduetoshortageoflabororhighlaborcosts,treefarmingwithMeliadubiaismoreprofitablecomparedtoraisingannual
cropsunderintensivesystemsasexperiencedbytheinnovatingfarmerinKallipattivillageintheErodedistrict,TamilNadu.

[1]Ratooning(fromSpanishretoo,"sprout")isamethodofharvestingacropwhichleavestherootsandthelowerpartsoftheplant
uncuttogivetheratoonorthestubblecrop.Themainbenefitofratooningisthatthecropmaturesearlierintheseason.Ratooningcan

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also decrease the cost of preparing the field and planting. This method cannot be used endlessly as the yield of the ratoon crop
decreasesaftereachcycle.Ratooningismostoftenusedwithcropswhichareknowntogiveasteadyyieldforthreeyearsundermost
conditions(Wikipedia)

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ThispracticewasdevelopedandappliedinalocalcontextbyafarmerinKallipattivillage,ErodeDistrictofTamilNaduinsouthernIndia.
ByseeingtheprofitablecultivationofMalaiVembutrees,thefarmerstartedraising60,000treesinherfield.Thishadamultiplying
effecttotheneighboringfarmersbywhichtheystartedtoplantthetreecropwithintheirfields.Sheinitiallyraised1000seedlingsand
suppliedthemtotheneighboringfarmers.

EvenaTVchannelhascoveredthefarmersinnovationandmanypeoplecameforwardforsupplyordersof50,000seedlingsintotal.So
far,shehassupplied12,000seedlingsandhasalwaysbeenbusyinraisingandsupplyingseedlingstootherfarmersaccordingtotheir
demandandherconvenience.

Recently,tissueculturedseedlingsarebeingdistributedbypaperindustriesandthereforethedemandforconventionaltypeseedlings
hasdecreasedtremendously.

Thelocalinnovationhashadasignificantoutreachtootherfarmersofthearea:Nowtherearemorethan200farmersinandaround
Kallipatti village of the Erode District, which plant and market the tree crop. Also, farmers in neighboring districts, like e.g. Dindugul,
Coimbatore,havebeengrowingthistreeascommercialcropformorethan6yearsnow.

Bygrowinginoneacre(0.4ha)ofland,afarmercanharvestsupto30tonsin3years,thusearninganincomeofRs.4,500perton
cuttingchargesandlorrytransportchargescostRs.1,500perton.ThusitispossibletoearnanetprofitofRs.90,000fromoneacre.
ThiscorrespondstoRs.225,000perhectare.

Images

Furtherreading
Avideo,explainingthedifferenttechniquesinTamillanguageisavailable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2sOnXkjteE

http://www.thehindu.com/scitech/agriculture/meliadubiatreeholdsprom...

FAOIrrigationguidelines:http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0231e/t0231e00.htm#Contents

Keywords
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4/28/2017 InnovationsforraisingMalabarNeem(Meliadubia)inTamilNadu,India|TECA
Melia
agroforestry
nurseryraising
Seedlingproduction
seedling GOTO
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Category
Forestry
NaturalResourcesManagement

Region
SouthAsia

Countries
India

Createddate
Mon,13/06/201600:00

Source(s)

SustainableAgriculture&EnvironmentalVoluntaryActionSEVA

SEVA (Sustainable Agriculture & Environmental Voluntary Action) is an Indian NGO, located in Tamil Nadu in the
southern part of India. It is a registered society under the 'Society Registration Act' of Tamil Nadu (RegNo.136/92).
TheNGOhasbeenconstantlyinvolvedinvariousactivities,asthereare:

thedocumentationanddisseminationofindigenousknowledgeandgrassrootsinnovations
theconservationoflocallivestockbreedsinTamilNaduState
promotingselfhelpgroupswithfarmers,livestockkeepersandgrassrootsinnovators

SEVA has been publishing a local newsletter in Tamil language called Num Vali Velanmai for communicating
indigenous knowledge, organic practices, innovations in agriculture, animal husbandry and natural resource
management.

TheNGOhasbeenamemberoftheHoneyBeeNetworkanditcollaborateswithorganizationsandvolunteersin
otherlanguageregionsofthecountryforthepurposeofknowledgenetworking.

SEVAisthecoordinatoroftheLIFENetworkandattemptscapacitybuildingoflivestockkeepersandpastoralists
towardstheconservationoflocallivestockbreedsinIndia.

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Contacts:
P.Vivekanandan
Contactperson:
vivekseva@gmail.com
Contactemail:
+914522380082
Telephone:
http://www.sevango.in/
Web:
India
Country:

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