Interview with Mr. M.S.Vagh, MD, Hunsur Plywoods

Melia is extensively used in plywood industry and is a recommended
species. It is a naturally fast growing species. In Kerala it grows
too fast because of high rainfall - Melia wood from Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka is preferred.
He suggested a pit size of 2' x 2' x 2' with 20' by 20' spacing giving
a plant density of about 109 trees to an acre.
Irrigation and fertilizer use only for the first 2 years if at all and
thereafter no irrigation or fertilizing as otherwise the tree would
grow too fast.
The larger pit size would naturally allow more rainwater to reach the
plant. According to him the tree is to be ideally harvested for
plywood core veneer purposes in the 12th year.
The average tree would have a 24' bole with 3'-3.5' girth. Each tree
would yield about 15 cft of wood. Presently the wood is bought by them
at Rs. 225 to Rs. 250 per cft. Trees for facing veneer need to be
about 30 years old and these would be procured at Rs. 500 to Rs. 600
per cft. The process for obtaining core veneer is through peeling and
even smaller logs can be peeled. For facing veneer the process is more
akin to splitting and you need larger sized logs.
He suggested planting 85% Melia with 15% higher value timber trees
like mahogany.
Promised to send a note and also was kind enough to invite Sara for
further discussion.
Mr. Vagh's contact number is 0822-2252025