Planting and Stand management

Casuarina has a wide environmental adaptability and hence occupies sites ranging from arid regions to coastal zones. Being an actinorhizal plant, casuarina is capable of biological nitrogen fixation. Therefore, it thrives best on sandy soils low in nitrogen and has the potential to improve the nitrogen capital of impoverished sites.

Site preparation includes ploughing the land 2-3 times and making 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm pits before the onset of monsoon. The pits are filled with FYM and topsoil. Planting is done immediately after the first rain. Block planting, row planting and line or strip planting are common. Spacing varies depending on the objective and the end product. Usually, a spacing of 75 cm x 75 cm is adopted. One or two weeding is done immediately after the rains. When the trees are about 3 m in height, the lateral branches are pruned to a height of about 2 m. Pruning is usually done at the end of the second year or after the beginning of the third year. In plantations established at close spacing (75 cm x 75 cm), one thinning in the second year or third year depending on tree growth is desirable, where 25-50 per cent of the trees are felled. In mixed species systems such as agroforestry, spacing and thinning practices are mainly dependent on the cropping systems and the nature of the associated species. If the associated crops are shade intolerant generally wider spacing and or intensive thinning are recommended. Fertilizers may be applied at the rate of 20-25 g N, 15-20 g P₂O₅ and 15-20 g K₂O per seedling per year from the second year to the fifth year.