Soil Working Technique in Degraded Lands-<I>Eucalyptus</I> Hybrid

Abstract

Degraded bouldery river beds, occupying a sizable area of Doon Valley, support only scrub vegetation due to inherent physical and chemical soil Constraints. To rehabilitate such lands with Eucalyptus hybrid, an experiment was carried out (1982-86) on soil working (50, 75 and 100 cm deep pits or holes) filled with original half replaced and full replacement of excavated soil with good top soil. Results revealed that on an average l00 cm deep holes and pits produced 1.43 m and 1.83 m height and 1.58 cm and 2.18 dbh respectively. Although soil replacement showed better moisture regimes but did not significantly affect the growth. The rooting behaviour of 42 months plants showed more root length, higher vertical to total length ratio in 100 cm deep pits and holes. The cost of wood was Rs.297/ m³ for holes and Rs.860/m³ for of pits 100 cm depth. Thus, 100 cm deep holes were found to be cheaper than pits and produced higher growth should be preferred for planting Eucalyptus hybrid.