Tending Operations

Shrinivas N. Sabale
 Tending Operations
• Operations carried out for the benefits of forest crop at
any stage of its life.
• It essentially covers operation on the crop itself and
competing for vegetation and include weeding, cleaning,
thinning, felling, pruning, climber cutting, girdling but
exclude soil working, drainage, irrigation, and burning,
etc.
• For the establishment of the regeneration and subsequent
development of the forest crop up to harvesting, several
operations are carried out.
• These operations are carried out in the forest crop at
different stages of growth in order to provide a healthy
environment for their development.
 NEED FOR TENDING OPERATIONS
Two major needs:
• 1. Sanitation:
• 2. To provide growing space for trees.
– The act of reducing the chanced of insects and other diseases
in sanitation. The trees which are susceptible, injured,
broken, weak, diseased, or infected by insects are removed.
– Looking for space in which trees extend their masses, lastly
tending operations are essential for providing, the tree with
more light water nutrients, etc.
– Tending operations result in the achievement of a form
which confirms the human sense of liking.
 Weeding
• Any unwanted plant that interferes or tends to
interfere with the growth of the individuals of
favoured species’ is called a weed. Weeding is
defined as ‘a tending operation done in the
seedling stage in the nursery or in a forest
crop, that involves the removal or cutting back
of all weeds.
 Objectives of Weeding
• To protect the crops from suppression
• To reduce root competition for moisture and
nutrients available in the soil
• To reduce transpirational water loss
• To improve light conditions
 Methods of Weeding
• Weeds may be controlled by the following
methods:
• a) Mechanical Methods
• b) Biological Methods
• c) Chemical Methods
 When Weeding is done?
• It is done at the seedling stage. A common practice for
weeding is that it must be done before weeds start suppressing
the seedling crops and when seedlings have stopped growing
in the season.
• Weeding should be carried out when the weeds have tender
roots and shoots, otherwise, it will be difficult to uproot. In
plantation, weeding is done during and after the monsoon.
• Number of weeding depends upon the intensity of weed
growth and the rate of growth of seedlings of the favoured
species, three weddings are usually done in the first year, two
in the second year and one in the third year, whereas fast-
growing species require weeding for one or two years.
 Where Weeding is done?

• Areas where weeds are tall and dense.

• Where light cannot reach the ground easily, which not
only affect the regeneration but also obstructs the
growth of species, because weeds grow at a faster rate
than the crop species.
• It can be done in nurseries, natural or artificial
regeneration.
 How Weeding is done?
• It is customary to weed in a circle of 60 cm in diameter around
the plants, but this should be regarded as an absolute
minimum.
• Increasing the diameter of the circle of one metre would be
very desirable.
• In parts of the Terai and Bhabar Terai Zones, where there is a
dense growth of perennial grasses, weeding 60 cm around the
plants is certainly inadequate. Weeds should be pulled to come
with the roots.
• During the winter, seedlings need protection from frost.
Therefore, weeding should be stopped by the end of
September until the start of spring.
• The intensity of weed growth and rate of growth of crop
species determine the number of weeding.
 Weeding Limitations

• Despite weeding removes all plants that

compete with the crop species.
• Some crop species, by nature, love to have
shade-partial or complete while some others
are shade tolerant.
Weeding Important Points to Note
• The removal or cutting back of any sort of weed growth that
is interfering with the growth of the crop is called weeding.
• Removal means uprooting the entire weed even Morus alba
if not required.
• Cutting back is meant by cutting the upper portion but this
does not control weeding.
• When plants are 3 feet high or less, the stage is seedling. In
the seedling stage usually, the side branches have yet to
come out and light frequently falls upon open interplant
spaces and then weeds become active, start competing and
start sucking food, hence they are removed.
• Weeds mainly appear from seeds, others from coppice
and still others form suckers.
• In natural forests, Viburnum spp creates a problem by
appearing again and again.
• Weeding should be at early ages because seedlings
have to suffer when the weeds surpass them in height.
• For shisham plantation, weeding is done twice in the
first year.
• In addition, weeding continues with cleaning as well.
 CLEANING:
• Cleaning is carried out in a crop which has not crossed
the sapling stage
• It is defined as the cutting made in order to face the best
individuals from undesirable one of the same age which
interfere or are likely to interfere with the growth of the
desired individuals.
• Advantage offered by cleaning is the proper regulation
of the composition of the crop, particularly in mixed
crops.
 Methods of Cleaning
• Methods of cleaning may be mechanical, biological and chemical
as described under weeding.
• Tending operations done in sapling crop particularly just before
or with the first thinning are involving the removal or cutting
back of all inferior growth, climbers, etc” including an excess of
coppice shoots and sapling if interfering with better one.
• Sometimes cleaning and the first thinning is done simultaneously
or sometimes separate.
• After sapling branches shade up the ground then weaker type of
seedlings may appear, they are undesired and removable.
• Bela plantations of Shisham raised from root suckers and
coppices demands cleaning. Here hundreds of coppice shoots are
reduced. Diseased shisham will also be removed.
 CLIMBER CONTROL:
• A plant that attaches itself to other plants or objects
such as posts and walls as it grows is a Climber.
• This difficulty is faced in nurseries usually seedlings
are twined by climbers. Afterwards, the internode
increases in length. The climber pulls the head of the
seedling. Since this host climber can’t be extended,
shoot of the seedling is broken.
• Sometimes it completely girdles the shoots and plants
die of suffocation.
• Removal of climbers is necessary.
 THINNING
• Thinning is defined as a felling made in an immature stand for
the purpose of improving the growth and form of the trees that
remain without permanently breaking the canopy.
– 1. It is a treatment of forest crops whereby the number of trees
growing in a stand is reduced.
– 2. Thinning consists of a series of successive felling operation for a
number of times before the crop matures.
– 3. The interval between two succession felling may be fixed but it is
dependent on the time required for canopy closure.
– 4. Thinning is carried out in a crop after it reaches the sapling stage
and continued up to the beginning of the regeneration period.
– 5. The thinning principles are applicable to pure and even-aged or
nearly even-aged crop or even-aged groups of the trees in a crop.
– 6. Thinning always increases spacing and decreases the number of
trees per unit area.
– 7. Most of the trees species are raised at a close spacing
i.e. i. 2 m x 2 m or, ii. 3 m x 2 m or, iii. 3 m x 1 m
– 8. After five or ten years depending upon species and
site conditions the canopy closes or root competition is so
heavy that the plants are not able to grow unless they are
thinned out.
– 9. They are quite spaced for the crown as well as root
development.
– 10. Thinning is based on the principle of natural
development of crop after each thinning number of
trees/hectare decreases but this is compensated by its
diameter and height growth.
 OBJECTIVES OF THINNING
1. To improve the hygienic condition.
2. To create best conditions of growth.
3. Salvage the anticipated losses of the merchantable
volume.
4. To obtain a desirable composition of crops.
5. Retaining seed beares.
6. Improvement in wood quality.
7. To obtain intermediate yield and increase net yield and
financial out-turn.
8. Decomposition of raw hummus.
9. To reduce the risk of diseases and pests.
 Purpose/aims of thinning
• To reduce competition in root and crown
• Discourage weed growth
• Improve quality of wood
• Regulation of rate of growth
• Thinning controls rotation. Closer the trees, smaller is the rate
of growth longer is the rotation and vice versa. So thinning is
done to increase rate of growth and reduce rotation.
• Trees on ridges are exposed to hazards, so they are heavily
thinned. Greater snow will be accumulated in dense crop and
smaller amount in open crop. Bigger the crown, larger is the
production of resin. Wider the crown, greater is seed/fruit
production.
• Thinning is also a determinant of quality. Wider space
provided give wider annual rings.
• To increase seed production
• Reduction in the net cost of growing
• Whatever spending is done on growing stock, thinning
pays some of it back as fuel wood, etc.
• Reducing the risk of fire and diseases
• Encouraging the advanced growth
• Fulfilling the market demands
 METHODS OF THINNING

• For regular crop the following methods are

used for thinning:-
• 1. Mechanical thinning
• 2. Ordinary or low thinning
• 3. Crown Thinning
• 4. Free thinning
• 5. Advance thinning
• 6. Maximum/ Numerical thinning
 MECHANICAL THINNING
• In this type of thinning the trees are removed by some
thumb rule
– e.g. Removal or alternate rows,
– or Removal of alternate diagonals
– or Removal of every second third, fourth line etc.
– or where the spacing is irregular the minimum spacing is
irregular the minimum spacing is maintained by using
“STANDARD STICK” method.
• This type of thinning is applied to young plantations in
which canopy differentiation has not taken place.
 Types of mechanical thinning
• i. Row thinning
– trees are removed in lines or rows.
• Ii. Space thinning
– Trees at fixed intervals of distance are selected by
using “STICK” for retention end all others are cut.
– This method is well suited to plantations having
uniforms productivity but in case of high mortality
plantation, this is difficult to apply.
 – The formula evolved for some species to carry out thinnings
are:-
i. GLOVER’S formula for Deodar D = d
ii. WARREN’S formula for Deodar D = 1*1/2 d =3/2 d = 1.5 d
iii. HOWARD’S formula for Dalbergia sissoo D = 2d where D
= Spacing of trees in feet and
d = Average diameter of trees inches
– This method may be good for an area having uniform
productivity but the disadvantage that many good trees which
fall in diagonals or row are removed.
 Low or ordinary thinning

• This is known as “GERMAN THINNING” or “THINNING

FROM THE BLOW” and consists of the removal of inferior
individuals starting from the suppressed class, then taking
the dominated class and ultimately some of the dominant
class.
• It is a very common form of selective thinning in regular
crops.
• It has been devised to be in line with nature because only
those trees which have been unsuccessful in the struggle for
growth are removed first.
 ADVANTAGES OF ORDINARY THINNING

• It is useful in areas where the demand for small timber is more

and has a market for selling.
• It is most suited for light demander species e.g. chir pine, sissoo,
semal etc.
• It is simple to apply and even a less trained staff can mark the
trees for felling.
• This thinning practice improves the HYGENIC condition because
several diseased and insect infected trees are removed.
ADVANTAGES OF ORDINARY THINNING

• This thinning is preferred where climber infestation is a

problem but should not be carried out where there is a
danger of soil erosion.
• In this method, smaller and less vigorous trees are removed
and vigorous trees are retained for fast growth.
• Removal of lower crown classes helps in the Natural
Regeneration of the species.
 DEMERITS OF ORDINARY THINNING

• There is always a danger of exposure to the soil

• Increases the fire hazards
• The removal of lower crown classes is troublesome
and expensive due to thorny bushes, undesirable trees
and climber infestation is heavy.
• The surplus of the nutrients store is utilized by lower
crown classes and remains in cycling.
 CROWN THINNING
• This is also known as “THINNING FROM ABOVE”.
• This is a kind of selective thinning in which thinning is
primarily directed to the dominant trees in a regular crop,
the less promising ones being removed in the interest of
the best available individuals:
– The dominated and suppressed stems are retained unless they are
dead, dying or diseased.
• The crown thinning favours the crown development of
the selected potential final crop, trees;
– Retaining trees of lower crown classes can help in the natural
pruning of the dominant trees which are to make the final crop.
• The selection of ELITES or ALPHA stems is necessary,
– evenly spaced over the ground,
– which are retained upto maturity or till the last thinning or two,
– and thinning operations may accordingly be directed primarily to the
removal of other stem hindering their optimum development.
• Efforts are made on freeing the selection of most promising stems
called “ELITE or ALPHA STEMS” from the competition of their
less promising neighbors.
• The number of future stems to be required at the rotation are first
selected and retained evenly distributed over the area.
• After selecting and marking the elite tree, if considered necessary,
they are cut otherwise left for the protection of the site.
• The crop after free thinning do not differ much in appearance
from those subject to crown thinning, but the attention is
concentrated on the trees to be retained rather than on the trees to
be removed, just as in seeding felling.
 Types of crown thinning
• i. Light Crown Thinning (L.C. Grade)
– This consists in the removal of dead, dying, diseased
and wolf trees with such of the defective and after
them the better dominants as are necessary to leave
room for further development of the best available
trees evenly distributed over the area.
– The trees belong to classes V, VI, I (d), I (c), many of
I (b) and a few of I (a) but not III and II are removed.
• ii. Heavy Crown Thinning (H.C. Thinning)
– This grade of thinning pays even more attention to
favouring the selected best times by removing all the
remaining I (b), which can be taken without creating
permanent gaps and more of I (a) i.e. classes V, IV, I
(d), I (c) most or I (b), some of I (a); but not III and
II.
– The final crop is target to achieve certain stocking
e.g. 500 to 600 trees per hectare.
– The dominated and suppressed trees are removed.
 THE ADVANTAGES OF CROWN
THINNING

• This method checks soil erosion and damage

due to frost, snow, wind etc.
• Shade bearing trees are also protected.
• The lower classes help in controlling weed and
shrubs growth.
• The side branches are pruned in a better way.
DISADVANTAGES OF CROWN THINNING ARE

• The dominants are adversely affected.

• The lower tree classes make difficult various
operations.
– e.g. marking, felling, logging and extraction of the
thinned material.
• It requires experience and skill.
 FREE THINNING

• This is also called HECK’S free thinning and is a

modification of crown thinning.
• It is also called “ELITE THINNING” or “SINGLE
STEM SILVICULTURE”.
 ADVANCE THINNING

• This method was developed by CRAIB (1939) and O,

CONNER for wattle and pine plantations in South
Africa.
• Advance thinning was tried for chir pine, but this
method is not suitable for light demanding species
under tropical conditions.
• The rapid extension of the crown and quick closure of
the canopy after felling does not take place in South
Africa but rather grass and other weed growth are
encouraged increasing fire hazard.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THINNING PRACTICE

• 1. Site Factors
• 2. Nature of species
• 3. Age
 1. Site Factors
• The site quality influence on thinning practice is that a
relatively close canopy on the poorer sites should be
maintained.
• On low quality sites heavy openings should not be made.
• The spacing out widely in earlier stages should not be carried
out on hot, dry, slopes, on poor soils and on all sites where
grass and other weed invasion is likely to occur.
• A poor site will usually support less stems per hectare than a
good one.
 2. Nature of Species
• The shade-bearers are more tolerant of crown than the
light demanders therefore more frequent thinnings is
needed for light demanders species.
• Light demanders usually show good response to
ordinary thinning where as shade-bearers to crown
thinning.
• Chir pine and sissoo, being light demanders require
heavier grades of ordinary thinning.
• For Deodar advance thinning is suitable as the site is
not likely to degrade even after expose.
 3. Age
• The crown formation depends on age and in young
ages when the crown formation is not completed
mechanical thinning or stick thinning may e done
with succession.
• The light demander species require heavier grade of
thinning at frequent intervals in younger crops.
• On the other hand some species in middle age or
maturity require crown thinning.