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HYDERABAD, July 9

USING biotechnology methods, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) has been able to considerably increase productivity and revenues from its eucalyptus plantations spread across the State.

Near five-fold increases, up from 10-20 tonnes in conventional techniques to 75 tonnes per hectare have been demonstrated in the plantations where eucalyptus clonal plants have been raised using the biotech method, according to Dr N. Ramakrishna Rao, Chief General Manager, APFDC.

In a span of six years from 1996, the corporation has been able to spread clonal plantations to 10,000 ha out of the total of 51,000 ha in which eucalyptus, the mainstay of the department, is currently grown.

The total earnings from these plantations through sale of pulpwood and firewood were around Rs 5.30 crore at the current market prices, Dr Rao told Business Line.

In addition to eucalyptus, bamboo, subabul and casurina are the other major forest-based trees grown by the corporation. From these, a total of 60,000 tonnes of pulpwood is supplied to the four major paper and pulpwood industries in the State. These are ITC-Bhadrachalam, Sirpur Paper Mills, AP Paper Mills and AP Rayons.

The annual demand for raw material from these major producers is of the order of 13-14 lakh tonnes, from which they produce about 3.8 lakh tonnes of paper. Interestingly, the lion's share of the raw material or six lakh tonnes was supplied by private holdings raised under agro-forestry in the two districts of Prakasam and Nellore alone, Dr Rao said.

Another interesting feature of the corporation's efforts is its partnership with a private sector company. In 1996, it sourced eucalyptus clones from ITC Bhadrachalam. Under the World Bank-funded Andhra Pradesh Forestry project, it took up trial plantations.

The raw material sourced from forest-based plants is also supplied to mining companies, especially the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL). By selling a lakh of pit props and 90,000 chocks, the corporation earned Rs 145 lakh last year.

Another set of novel users is the bio-energy power project promoters. The two important companies sourcing raw material are Nagarjuna Green Power project and Jyoti Bio-Energy in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief General Manager said.

With visible advantages of raising output and getting better returns as well as reducing land space needed, biotechnology will be a major thrust for the corporation in eucalyptus and other plants also in the near future, explained Mr S.K. Das, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Corporation.

Mr Das said APFDC was the first Government agency to use clonal technology to raise eucalyptus plantations. For biotech initiative, the corporation has also appointed the Coimbatore-based Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding.

Clonal technology involves selecting superior eucalyputs trees of desirable qualities, felling them, collecting optimum-sized vegetative shoots, and growing them under controlled atmosphere of humidity and temperature.

The corporation has established 38 mist chambers and 550 poly-tents in different districts for the production of clonal plants, with a production capacity of about 50 lakh plants annually.

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