Evaluation of Eucalyptus Clones in Eastern Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Eucalyptus is among the most widely cultivated forest trees in the world over 22 million hectares (ha). It provides major raw material for the pulp, plywood and paper industries in India, so it is imperative that planting stock of high genetic quality be used to increase the yield from plantations. In India, Eucalypts are in improving stage for adoption at larger level and choice of suitable clones is still a big challenge in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. To assess the suitable clones of Eucalyptus for this region, an experimental trial was established under statistical design of Randomised Block Design for 13 clones (IFGTB 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, FRI-100,104,124) of 02 eucalyptus species (E. tereticornis and E. camaldulensis). The soil analysis indicated pH 9.3, EC 0.89 mm/cm, organic carbon 0.21%, Nitrogen 47.3 kg/ha, Phosphorus 11.3 kg/ha and Potassium 184.8 kg/ha. The highest value of annual increment in gbh belonged to clones IFGTB 6 (5.18 cm) followed by IFGTB 8 (5.12 cm), IFGTB 2 (4.74 cm), IFGTB 5(4.36 cm) and IFGTB 10 (4.02cm) amongst IFGTB series whereas in FRI clones, clone FRI 100 performed superior with 3.03 cm increment in girth after one year of planting. The lowest values belonged to clone IFGTB 9 and DDN 124 with 2.44 cm and 2.49, respectively. The clones with good annual increment in height were IFGTB 2 (3.85 m) followed by IFGTB 6 (3.80 m), IFGTB 10 (3.77 m) ,IFGTB 8 (3.55 m) and IFGTB 5 (3.30 m) in IFGTB series whereas in FRI series, FRI 100 (2.70 m) performed superior over other two clones. The survival of plants was in range of 66-100%. The clones of species E. camaldulensis in IFGTB series performed better over other clones/species. The evaluation of Eucalypt clones will be helpful for identification of promising clones for the specific region, thus, planting stock of desired clones may be raised for their further cultivation in field. The expansion of plantations of Eucalyptus in agro forestry will be helpful in reducing pressure of forests, increasing trees outside forests and upgrading the economic level of farmers.