Reports

Introduction

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) is a versatile timber known for its quality, durability and strength. It is used largely for furniture and construction of buildings, ship and boat making, for veneer and as poles. Teak is an undisputed leader of high value tropical timbers. It is always referred to as standard  timber  for  comparative  evaluation  of  quality and utilisation potential  of  other tropical

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f) is being grown in plantations in more than 36 tropical countries across the globe although its natural occurrence is limited to India, Laos Myanmar and Thailand. Of the estimated 187.1 million hectares of global forest plantations in 2000, about 5.7 million hectares (3%) were teak, representing about 75% of the world’s high-quality tropical hardwood plantations, the major producers being India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Selected papers presented at the seminar were compiled. A paper on the global situation of teak plantations and several papers highlighting teak plantation management issues in different countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam were included. Papers dealing with specific topics such as tree improvement, mass propagation, disease and pest management and productivity and economics were also included.

This regional seminar on Teak held in Myanmar was the second of this kind organized by FAO, after the first jointly organized by China/ESCAP/FAO in China, March 1991. Seeing the follow-up activities after the first seminar, FAO recognized the need to examine several technical and economic issues in three major subject areas to discuss how to best guarantee the perpetuity of teak: 1) the management of natural teak forests; 2) the management of teak plantations; and 3) the trade and marketing of teak. This book consists of the proceedings of the seminar: record of discussions, thematic papers, country profiles and introduction to TEAKNET (Asia-Pacific Network on Research and Development of Teak).

Fourteen papers covering various aspects of silviculture research on teak in various Asian countries such as Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and genetic improvement works, planting techniques, storage techniques and growth pattern are included

The proceedings of the International Teak symposium highlight the status of teak cultivation and research. The important aspects like early history of teak planting, silviculture and management, pests, diseases and disorders, genetic improvement, soil, yield, utilisation and environmental issues are dealt with. Other general aspects such as privatisation and commercialisation of teak growing are also dealt with. Status of teak cultivation and research in India and Indonesia is highlighted.