PROPAGATION
PROPAGATION
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Artificial Propagation
- M. alba can be propagated either by planting out nursery raised seedlings or through rooted branch cuttings.
- Nursery raised seedlings are planted out either as entire plants or as stumps, the latter give better results than the former.
- Direct sowing does not produce good results.
SEED COLLECTION AND STORAGE
- Ripe fruits should be collected from the trees
- Fruits should never be collected from the ground as the seed in such fruits is generally insect attacked
- The fruits are heaped in the shade, rubbed and washed in water to separate out the seed which is dried in sun for a few days before storage
- The fruits may be pressed in a cloth to extract the juice and the pulp is then dried in sun, rubbed by hand and winnowed to remove the seed
- About 430-460 seeds weigh one gram.
- Seed stored in gunny bags is reported to lose vitality completely after one year’s storage.
- Carefully prepared seed can be stored in sealed tins in which it keeps well.
- The seed stratified in layers of fine dry sand or ash keeps well for over two years.
NURSERY TECHNIQUES
- Sowing in the nursery is done in May-June, soon after seed collection.
- Sowing is done in lines about 20 cm apart.
- Stratification in moist sand at about 50C temperature for about 30-90 days is reported to improve germination.
- Soaking of the seed in cold water for about a week is also reported to hasten and ensure uniform germination.
- Pre-sowing treatment of the seed with kerosene oil is also recommended to protect it from being carried away by ants.
- One bottle of kerosene oil is sufficient to treat about 37 kg seed.
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- The seed is mixed with ash or sawdust to ensure uniform sowing.
- It is covered only lightly with fine soil.
- Germination commences in about a week and may be completed in another 10 days
- The seedlings are transplanted when about 10 cm tall at a spacing of about 60 cm x 60 cm.
- Transplanting may be done in winter.
- For the production of stumps, the seedlings may be retained in the nursery for one or two years depending on their growth rate.
- About 2 cm collar diameter is considered to be the most suitable size for stumps.
PLANTING TECHNIQUE
- Out of the two common methods namely, planting out of entire plants and stump planting, the latter ensures higher success and is preferred.
- Stumps are prepared out of one or two years old seedlings ensuring that their collar diameter is normally not less than 1 cm.
- Stumps of about 1.5-2 cm collar diameter perform better.
- Stumps with about 22 cm root and 8 cm shoot are prepared with a sharp tool so that these do not spilt during preparation.
- These are wrapped in moist gunny bags during transport.
- Planting is done either in crow bar holes or in 30 cm3 pits.
- Morus alba can be raised by planting branch cuttings also. This method is however, not employed for raising plantations and is employed to multiply clonal material of good varieties.
- The spacing depends upon the objectives of raising the plantations.
- Close spacing may suffice if the trees are to be pollarded for leaf production.
- Wider spacing of 4 m x 4 m or 5 m x 5 m may be necessary if timber and leaf production are to be combined.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
- Wood is in chief demand for sports industry especially used for hockey sticks, tennis and badminton rackets and cricket bats etc.
- Used for boat-building, house construction, furniture
- It is good fuelwood having calorific value of sapwood and heartwood 4658 and 5003 kcal/kg respectively.
- The leaf fodder of mulberry is of good quality
- The leaves are good for silk worm rearing
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Last modified: Tuesday, 22 May 2012, 8:28 AM