Private sector forestry research: a success story from India.

摘要

In India, almost the entire recorded 76 million ha forest area is owned and managed by the state governments, and so there is little incentive for private sector investments in forestry research. However, ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited has successfully implemented a major research and development project since 1989 with a view to improving the productivity and profitability of plantations and making farm forestry an attractive land-use option for marginal agricultural land in Andhra Pradesh.The means used are the provision of high-quality seedlings, technical extension services and buy-back guarantees at remunerative prices to farmers. The productivity of the Eucalyptus clones used, developed and released for commercial plantations, rangesfrom 20 to 58 m3/ha annually under non-irrigated conditions, compared with 6 to 1 0 m3/ha annual productivity of Eucalyptus plantations raised from ordinarily available seed sources. Several intraspecific and interspecific Eucalyptus hybrids have been developed through controlled pollination. F1 hybrids with good heterosis have been cloned and the resulting hybrid clones are currently under field evaluation. Similar research was started in 1994 for the development of superior Casuarina clones. The development of elite clones has been followed by rapid adoption and development of large-scale commercial clonal Eucalyptus plantations. Between 1992 and 1999, nearly 7.3 million clonal saplings were supplied to farmers and Forest Departments and grown on a plantation area of 4567 ha. Current production capacity is 3 million saplings per year.