During 1975, I started my research activities in traditional casuarinas equisetifolia plan also. Initially I produced casuarinas seedlings from seeds and observed that the weight of tree varied from 5 Kg's per tree to 50 Kg's per tree at the end of the 5th year resulting in an average yield 35-50 Tons per acre. Moreover the trees get lodged during rainy, stormy and windy seasons.

 

Therefore ,I started the seedlings production in an imported hybrid casuarina Junghuliana variety which was brought from Thailand in the year 1951 to chengalpet, marakanam and Kanchipuram district of Tamilnadu by the Dean chief conservator of Tamilnadu Forest Department namely Mr.Hondas this variety is an open pollinated diploid plants and hence plants produced from the seeds showed variation in growth traits and gave an average yield of 50-75 Tons/Acre in 5 years not satisfied with this performance, I selected a good performing mother plant of Casuarinas Junghuliana Miq identified a sterile tetraploid casuarinas

 

Junghuliana Miq and standardized protocol for shoot tip vegetative propagation and invitro micro propagation method. I gave Gamma irradiation at kalpakkam atomic research station the farmers after 3.5 years of cultivation observed that each tree weighted 100 kg's and in one acre approximately 140 tones* yield was realized. The cost of one ton is ₹ 2500 approximately and hence the total revenue works out to ₹ 4.5 Lakhs per acre with expenditure of only ₹ 0.5 Lakh.

 

The Farmer also observed that about 90% of plants showed uniformity in growth. This tree is mainly used in Paper Industries besides its use in Rayon Industries, Thermal Power Station, as support post in civil construction work. This variety gives out about 4900 calories of energy on combustion which is equal to that of lignite(but the cost of 1 ton of lignite is ₹ 12000)

 

* When cultivated as per our instructions.