Sheesham trees across north India are dying

Sheesham is the first to be hit because as compared to other widely grown trees like teak, Ashok andEucalyptus, it is the most sensitive. It is also very popular in North India with nearly 10-15 per cent of the total forest cover.

A team of soil scientists, ecologists and pathologists visited the areas of North Bihar on the Indo-Nepal border, Yamunanagar, Sonipat and Bhiwani in Haryana, Etah in UP and some areas of Delhi. The average age of a Sheesham tree is around 50-60 years but the trees which were hit were of ages between 25 and 30 years. Though exact figures could not be given of the mortality rate, it was “significantly high”, according to the members of the scientists who went to check on the complaints.

Root samples were brought back and studied and preliminary reports given. In all the dead trees, root seemed to be infected by a fungi called fuserium, which essentially prevents the roots from absorbing the nutrients. Fuserium, though always present in the soil, was attacking the roots because of increased moisture content in the soil. The result: The trees would suddenly dry and thendie.

Scientists are working on various hypotheses. Among them are changing weather conditions, soil conditions or just wrong site choice for the trees. In Haryana with canal irrigation, there has been an increase in the water table level, increasing the moisture content in the soil. And Sheesham can only thrive in sandy loam soil.

Another theory is the smog and the fog, especially in the suburbs of Delhi. “More cloudy days and drop in temperature over the years could be one of the reasons,” said Rawat.

Soil erosion and depletion of forest cover could be another reason why the clay content has increased in the soil in the hills of UP. As far as Delhi farmhouses were concerned, the mortality was the result of overzealous farmhouse owners doing excessive watering.

However, forest scientists feel that these are just hypotheses which they have to work on. Rainfall, soil conditions over years and temperature data has to be studied. But, one fact which they are certain about is that there is no disease orepidemic which has struck the trees.

Over the last 50 years, Sheesham has become very popular with farmers of north India who have planted them on the side of wheat or maize fields. “Farmers grew a little greedy on Sheesham and started planting them in soil conditions which was not suited to the variety,” said M.N. Jha, scientist from FRI. Sheesham meant good economics as its wood is only next to teak in terms of grade for making furniture and it grows faster than teak.

The only other species which seemed to be a little affected was Keekar (Babool) trees in Haryana but its numbers are small as compared to Sheesham. Rawat denies that there is a possibility of the entire species being wiped out but he agrees that it requires mega scale research to ascertain the reasons behind this abnormal mortality.