Introductory Agroforestry

GREWIA OPTIVA

Botanical Name: Grewia optiva Drumm.
Common Name: Beul, Dhaman
Family : Tiliaceae

Plate 14.3 Grewia optiva tree

Description

• It is a very popular tree of the farmers of the sub-Himalayan tract for its fodder, fibres and fuelwood.
• A full grown tree is moderate sized with spreading crown, reaching a height up to 12 m with a clear bole of 3-4 m and a girth of about 80 cm.
• Bark is smooth and whitish-grey.
• Flowers 1-8, solitary and axillary, petals yellow or white.
• The fruit is a fleshy drupe, 2-4 lobed, olive green when immature and black when ripe, and edible.

Distribution:

• It is distributed from the foothills of the Western Himalayas from Jammu and Kashmir to Nepal up to 2000 m elevation.
• It is not a common forest tree and is generally grown on field boundaries or terraces raised by the hill farmers.

Site factors

• It is a tree of sub-tropical climate.
• In its natural habitat, the maximum shade temperature seldom exceeds 38oC and the minimum rarely drops below -2oC.
• Tree is hardy and grows on a variety of soils. Sandy loam soil with adequate moisture supply supports good growth.

Phenology

• Leaf-fall - March-April
• Leaf renewal - April-May
• Flowering - April-May
• Fruiting - June-July
• Fruit ripe - October-November

Silvicultural characteristics

• Strong light demander
• Require complete over head light
• Seedling suppressed by weed
• It is frost hardy tree
• Young seedling dieback due to severe frost
• It coppices very well
• Susceptible to fire and browsing