Ailanthus excelsa (Mahaneem): A potential tree species in greening the desert

The study was conducted at Regional Research Station, Balsamand of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana). The experimental area has an arid climate with annual rainfall of 220 mm. The soil has been classified as mixed hyperthermic typic torripsament of Balsamand series. About one year old seedlings of Azadirachta indica, Ailanthus excelsa, Albizia lebbeck and Prosopis cineraria were planted in 0.6 m deep pits with 0.6 m diameter. The pits were filled with mixture of soil, FYM and silt in proportion of 2:1:1, respectively. After transplantation, fourteen supplementary basin irrigation (10 lt water/plant) were given at varying intervals for establishing the tree seedlings for a total period of one and half years. After ten years of transplantation Mahaneem (Ailanthus excelsa) exhibited maximum height (10.4 m) and girth at breast height (106.6 cm) as compared to other tree species. The soil physical as well as chemical properties were also considerably improved under Ailanthus excelsa plantation. Thus, Mahaneem tree can be effectively used in large-scale afforestation programmes in arid regions.