Silviculture of Trees Artocarpus Lakoocha (Badahar)



Taxonomical Classification

       Domain: Eukaryota

       Kingdom: Plantae

       Phylum: Spermatophyta

       Subphylum: Angiospermae

       Class: Dicotyledonae

       Order: Urticales

        Family: Moraceae

        Genus: Artocarpus

        Species: Artocarpus lakoocha

Morphology

  • Tree form: Lakoocha is a deciduous tree, 10-15 m tall. Branchlets are 3-6 mm thick, densely covered with stiff pale brown to yellow velvety hairs.
  • Leaf: Alternately arranged, Elliptical leaves,2-3 cm long stalks, Leaves are large, 25-30 cm long, 15-20 cm wide, base wedge-shaped, tip blunt. Leaf margin is entire.
  • Flower: Flowers appear on the leafless branch, unisexual-male and female, Male flowers are yellow-orange while the female is reddish. Male flower is usually, fall to the ground soon after they appear.
  • Fruit: Fruit is a syncarp (the entire female inflorescence forms a fruit), fleshy, irregularly rounded, green when young, turning yellow at the time of maturity, Diameter is typically 5-10 cm, weights 200-350 g, 10-30 seeds per fruit.
  • Seed: More or less flattened and pointed at the embryo end, seeds are irregular and Contain sticky white latex within a thin and white seed coat. Most seeds are about one cm long at maturity.
  • Bark: The bark is dark brown, exfoliating in small, round, woody peels, reddish inside.





Phenology

  • Leaf Fall: Early February to the beginning of the March
  • Flowering: April to May
  • Fruit Ripen: End of June to early August
  • Seed collection: July to August
  • Seed sowing: all year round > only fresh seeds germinate reliably

Geographic Distribution

  • Altitude: 150-1600 m from MSL
  • Mean annual temperature: 17-24° C
  • Mean annual rainfall: 700-2000 mm
  • Soil type: It prefers deep permeable soils.
  • Native countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

Economic importance

       Timber is used for house construction work, medium-weight furniture, boat building, cabinet works, and decorative purposes and local fuel.

       Bark contains soluble tannin 8.5%  and can be used for  tanning purposes and also used to treat skin ailments.

       The wood and roots yield a lavish color dye.

       Fruit is highly nutritious and used as raw materials for pharmaceuticals.

       Root is astringent and used as a purgative.

       Wood is durable, hard, suitable for polishing and resistant to termites.

       It produces highly valuable forage and have a production rate of about 60-200 kgs per year.

Regeneration

       Both natural and artificial.

       Natural regeneration  from seeds dispersed by birds and animals.

       Artificial regeneration by direct sowing, cuttings, air layering, and root suckers.

       Seed collection time: late June-early august

       1900 to 5000 seeds per kg

       Seed Extraction: Flesh should be removed from the seed before they are sown.

       Recalcitrant seed

       Seed lose their viability within few days (2 days). Fruits were collected just before maturity and stored at 4 ̊C.

       Elevation < 1500m : germination begins about 2 weeks and is completed 1-2 weeks later, > 1500m: takes a longer period

       Germination percentage: 80% from fresh seed

       Nursery period: for seedling: 11 months after sowing, at the beginning of rains

       Best planting size: seedling will be 25-35cm in height with 5 to 7mm root collar diameter.

       Susceptible to damage by Alternaria tenuis



Silviculture characteristics

       Light demander.

       Frost hardy

       Large deciduous tree with spreading crown and clear straight bole.

       Grows best on deep permeable soils with a good supply of moisture often occurs on the bank of the river.

       Coppices well

       Mostly occurred in Sal forest.

       Young plants are liable to damage by browsing animals.

References

       Joshee, N., D.R. Bastola, V.P. Agarwal, and A.K. Yadav (2002). Lakoocha: A multipurpose tree of warm climate. P.405-406.

       Thakur, R., Phulara, N. (2014). A compendium of tree species of Nepal, (1-375).

       Hossain ,M., Islam, M.A. (2016). “ Nutritional value and medicinal uses of Monkey jack fruit (Artocarpus lakoocha)”. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 5(1), 60-63.

  




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