Tamil Nadu Forest Department Seed Source

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has maintained mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) plantations in the Western Ghats foothills and the Nilgiris since the mid-20th century, and these established stands serve as seed sources for government nurseries across the state. Seed is collected from well-formed, straight-stemmed mother trees during the March–April capsule-splitting season, and seedlings are raised in polybag nurseries for 6–12 months before distribution to farmers under social forestry, farm-forestry and agroforestry schemes. The TN Forest Department also operates the Tamil Nadu Agroforestry Model, which promotes mahogany as a boundary or block plantation tree on private farmland. Seedlings from government nurseries are available at subsidised rates (often ₹5–15 per seedling) during the pre-monsoon distribution window.

Plant typeSeedling (government nursery)
Maturity15–25 year rotation
Yield potentialStandard timber yield; seed from established TN plantations with known performance
Disease resistanceStandard shoot-borer susceptibility; nurse-tree planting recommended
SoilDeep, well-drained red loam to laterite
SeasonKharif

• Spacing3 × 3 m to 5 × 5 m; nurse tree in alternate rows

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

• Tamil Nadu

• Kerala Forest Department Seed Source

  Seedlings raised from seed collected from Kerala's managed mahogany plantations — the longest-standing Swietenia macrophylla plantations in India, dating to the early 20th century when the species was introduced from Central America.

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• KFRI Improved Planting Stock

  Seedlings raised from mother trees selected by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) for better stem form, vigour and early growth — a step up from unselected open-pollinated seed, though still not immune to the mahogany shoot borer.

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• Private Clonal / Tissue-Culture Stock

  Clonal or tissue-culture mahogany seedlings from private nurseries — selected from straight-stemmed, fast-growing mother trees for better form and timber yield, though the shoot-borer problem remains unsolved by genetics.

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