Paper mulberry possible reforestation crop

Title

Language

English

Year

1951

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Paper Mulberry As A Possible Reforestation Crop in the Philippines By Forester TEODORO DELIZO Instructor in Silviculture, College of Forestry Broussonetia papyri/era Vent. or Paper Mulberry belongs to a small genus of the family Moraceae. It is a middle-sized deciduous tree reaching a height of about fifteen meters and a diameter of about 30 centimeters. Its native habitat is eastern Asia and it is commonly cultivated in China, Japan, Siam, Java, India and Burma. In Burma and Siam it is found growing wild. The natives of Polynesia make cloth of bark which they call "tapa" or "kapa". In Siam, a special kind of paper is manufactured from the inner bark and used in the making of umbrellas. In Burma, it is made into cardboard blackened for use as slate for writing purposes in schools. In Japan, the bark as well as the wood is used in the manufacture of paper. In India, it is used in the manufacture of mechanical pulp. Sometime in 1935, a few root suckers were planted in the arb()retum of the Makiling National Park. Th~ trees were observed to produce root sprouts or root suckers generously so that its possibility for planting in cogon or grasslands was considered. The trees did not produce seeds, therefore, the studies were confined on the behavior of the root sprouts. The area selected for planting was a patch of cogon land about a kilometer from the Forestry Campus. One week before planting, strips one meter wide and two meters apart were cleaned of the thick cogon grass. On June 30, 1947 root sprouts were gathered under the trees in the arboretum. They were classified into nine size classes of fifty pieces in each class. The leaves were trimmed to reduce the leaf area to about half. Page 18 The sprouts were cut in the form of a mallet cutting in which a small section of the root formed the head of the mallet. The roots were puddled then wrapped in a moist gunny sack and brought to the planting area. They were planted one meter apart on the cleaned strips. After three years from the date of planting the average percent of survival was 37%, the average height was 6.4 7 meters and the average diameter was 4.59 centimeters. The cogon grass was completely eradicated and the trees are beginning to invade the adjacent areas by means of root suckers. It is safe to state that Paper Mulberry under conditions similar to Los Banos, is an effective means of controlling cogon provided the young trees are freed from the competing grasses and vines during the first twelve months of their life. " ... and that ye study to be quiet and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you." * * * * Growth is slow where roots are deep. * * * * -Holy Bible Man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness. * * * * Why are we made serious and solemn and sublime by mountain heights, grave and contemplative by an abundance of overhanging trees, reduced to inconstancy and monkey capers by the ripples on a ~andy beach? -0. Henry * * * * Courage is resistance to fear-Mastery of fear,not absence of fear. FORESTRY LEAVES

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