Teak wood known as the king of timber belongs to the family verbanaceae that grows as a huge tree. Some of its varieties include; Malabar teak, West African teak, Konni teak and Adilabad teak.
When teak plant is grown on fertile soils, each tree yields 10-15 cubic feet of wood in about 14 years. Main stem grows to a height of 25-30 feet and a girth of 35-45 inches. The climatic requirements for teak growing are moist warm tropical climate, maximum temperatures of 39-44°C and a minimum of 13-17°C. Rainfall between 1250- 3750mm per year and high light intensity. Teak plants require deep, well drained alluvial soils derived from limestone schist and optimum pH between 6.5-7.5.
Nursery and teak wood sowing
Each bed is of 1.2 metres spaced at 0.3 M to 0.6 M between beds and 0.6 M to 1.5 M between rows of beds. Ploughing is done to a depth of 0.3 M and soil allowed to weather for about a month then filled into the nursery bed with sand and organic matter.
Both broadcast sowing and line sowing at 5-10 cm apart are practised. Plant at 2m by 2m to 2.5m by 2.5m. Line sowing has a greater seed economy, better survival and growth.
Land preparation
Use pre- sprouted stumps or poly pots for planting. Dig pits of 45cm by 45cm. Apply 100g of fertilizer in the pit at the time of planting and thereafter in split doses. Firm up the soil after planting and irrigate. Control of weeds is necessary during early establishment of 1-3 years.
Pests such teak defoliator and skeletonizer cause extensive damage. Pink disease fungus causes cankers and back flaking. Powdery mildew leads to premature defoliation.
Thinning of teak plants
Conduct first thinning at 5-10 years after planting teak. About 25% of trees are left for further growth and development after the second thinning. Common intercrops for teak farming are paddy, chillies maize, wheat and various vegetables. To sum up, Teak requires relatively large amounts of calcium for its growth and development hence is a calcareous species.
