Dalbergia Sissoo
Family : Leguminosae - Faboideae
Common Name : Indian rosewood, Shisham
English Name : Indian rosewood, Shisham
Hindi Name : Sissu, Sissoo
Telugu Name : Sissoo
Bengali Name : Sitral
Tree Characteristics :
Shisham is a medium to large deciduous tree, native to India, with a light crown which reproduces by seeds and suckers. It can grow up to a maximum of 25 m in height and 2 to 3 m in diameter, but is usually smaller. Trunks are often crooked when grown in the open. Leaves are leathery, alternate, pinnately compound and about 15 cm long. Flowers are whitish to pink, fragrant, nearly sessile, up to 1.5 cm long and in dense clusters 5-10 cm in length. Pods are oblong, flat, thin, strap-like 4-8 cm long, 1 cm wide, and light brown. They contain 1-5 flat bean-shaped seeds 8-10 mm long. It is primarily found growing along river banks below 900 m elevation, but can range naturally up to 1300 m.
Nursery Practice :
Ripe pods are collected from the trees in bags or baskets. The pods may be also beaten off from the trees with sticks to the ground . Pods are dried in the sun for 3 to 4 days and stored after removing dead leaves, portion of twigs and other foreign matter. Seed is viable for about one year in sealed tins under ambient room temperatures. Pretreatment usually Not required. However, for hastenting germination, soak the seeds in cold water for 24 hours. Broken pieces of pods, each containing one seed are sown in properly worked up soil and lightly covered with earth in February-March. Too much watering is avoided. Then they are transplanted to polybags. Stumps can be prepared from stock of 12 to 16 months old plants. No. of seeds per Kg is 50,000 to 53,000; Germination Percentage is 90 to 100 and the Germination Period is 8 to 20 days.
Economic Use:
Ø Shisham is best known internationally as a premier timber species of the rosewood genus. However, Shisham is also an important fuel wood, shade, and shelter.
Ø After teak, it is the most important cultivated timber tree in India, planted on roadsides, and as a shade tree for tea plantations.
Ø It is highly valued as firewood and for charcoal production. The energy value of the wood is about 21,800 kJ/kg
The oil from seed is applied to cure skin diseases and powered wood is used as a remedy for leprosy and skin eruption.
