Screening of Ailanthus triphysa (Dennst.) alston. for preferred match wood qualities

Abstract

Ailanthus triphysa, a member of the family Simarubaceae is an important tree with regard to match manufacture. Twenty Candidate plus trees (CPTs) were selected from 10 panchayats across two districts (Thrissur and Palakkad) in Kerala to study the variation in wood properties and the growth parameters of their half-sib progenies during 2013-2017. Core samples were collected to analyse the anatomical properties and fibre indices between the CPTs, which was later found to vary significantly at one percent level. Morphological and growth parameters were observed in the half-sib progenies of the selected trees both in nursery and field condition for 150 days each. The morphological parameters like height, collar diameter, root length, leaf area, number of leaves etc. were found to vary significantly at nursery but not throughout the study period. Relative Growth Rate, Absolute Growth Rate and Net Assimilation Rate did not show significant variation among the seed sources. Field performance of the progenies was evaluated at Aaramkal, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala in RBD. Height and collar diameter varied significantly initially but the differences were not significant for collar diameter from 90 days after planting. However, survival percentage did not show any significant difference between the progenies. FCV AT 1 showed the maximum height growth at 150 days after planting. A questionnaire survey was conducted to access farmers’ perception towards growing raw materials for match manufacture. The respondents had an overall positive approach toward tree farming. The majority of the respondents were confident that scientific guidance will help them in increasing the yield.