Dying Shisham trees concerning environmentalists

A survey by the Forest Research Institute (FRI) have found that the mortality of shisham, which is also known as a pay-cheque in the timber business parlance, has caused a loss of Rs 800-1,000 crore in the Indian sub-continent.

"Nearly 8 to 10 lakh trees have wilted so far causing a huge loss in these three nations," said, Head of the Forest Pathology Division at the FRI A N Shukla.

Multi-location trials through root-dip methods are underway at the FRI. Through these trials, scientists are trying to bring back the resistance in shisham trees, which is one of the biggest timbers used for making furniture and other building materials in India.

The root cause of the disease plaguing shisham is a soil-born fungus called Fusarium solani, which inflicts the trunk of the sheesham following which the tree does not recoup.

As soon as the fungus strikes, the leaves of the tree starts turning pale and within a week or two the tree dies. Various factors like the climate change due to global warming, type of site and hydrological stress in the form of flooding and drought have been attributed to the dying of these trees, preliminary investigations revealed.

The satellite pictures show a "brown haze" over Delhi to the entire stretch of lower Himalayas extending up to West Bengal, Bangladesh and other South-Asian countries. Scientists, who studied the phenomenon as part of "India Ocean Experiment" (INDOEX), named it as "Asian Brown Haze."

"As the forests are natural reserves and repository of bio-diversity, effect of global warming is apparent on large-scale mortality of shisham trees in India. There is a definite correlation between brown haze and mortality of shisham as the area of mortality is the same over which the brown haze is presently static," said Shukla.

Shisham is one of the most important timber species in India. It is widely distributed along riverbanks where it grows naturally in the sub-Himalayan tracts from the Indus to the Brahmaputra in lower Assam. It is also planted extensively on alluvial soil. "We must take steps to save shisham from further decay," said Sunder Lal Bahuguan, a noted environmentalist.