PROTECTING SOIL FERTILITY TO IMPROVE EUCALYTUS PLANTATION YIELD
Keywords:
Site management, Nutrition, Soil fertility, Productivity plantation.Abstract
Management of forest harvesting slash is an important principle to maintain and improve soil fertility and
its resultant benefits on plantation productivity.
A series of research plots has been established to compare the growth of Eucalyptus on sites that have
been: (a) burnt to removal all residue/slash (control), (b) all residue/slash removed, (c) removal of only
residue/slash associated with harvested trees, and (d) a treatment where twice the normal level of residue
has been added and retained.
Results show that Eucalyptus height growth for each of the above treatments was 14.8%, 10.3% and
33.9% more than the control treatment and that diameter growth was 10.6%, 28.2% and 40.4% greater
than the control.
Growth can also be increased by addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorous fertilizers and with weed control.
This study is a collaboration between FSIV, the Centre for International Forest Research and of the
Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD
References
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