Title Pakistan Forest Digest Issue 01- A4 - Pakistan Research Group

SDPISustainable Development Policy InstituteA: Unfortunately, you omitted to tell me the species ofpalm tree you are having problems with but I will stilldo the best I can. The fog is unlikely to be the culpritas very dry air/wind affects palm trees far more thanfoggy conditions. Is this one tree perhaps moreexposed to a cold wind than the others? If so, then thiscould be the problem and you will need to providesome kind of shelter from the prevailing breeze. If not,then yes, termite could be responsible seeing that youalready have them in your lawn. Termite is more liableto attack one tree at a time than go for them all at once.I suggest that you take care of the termite problem onan emergency basis before you lose any more trees.Give your sick palm tree a heavy feed of liquidseaweed-based organic fertiliser with a high potashcontent, do this once a month and pray that it recoversin time. The fact that it is trying to make new growth isa good sign.Q: I live near the sea in Karachi and planted fourcoconut palms about 18 months ago. They were doingfine but suddenly one of them has started to die. Itsleaves have turned brown and brittle and the tree isbecoming thinner. Someone mentioned that the rootmay have termite so I put termite medicine but ithasn’t helped. What should I do now?A: Please refer to the previous answer.Q: I have a coconut palm in my garden in PECHS,Karachi, and it used to bear big coconuts through theyear. Recently though, the size of the nuts has reducedand some of the buds dry up without blossoming. Whatshould I do to resolve both these problems?A: Sounds like your tree needs feeding. You haven’tmentioned any visible pests and I am presuming thatyou irrigate on a reasonably regular basis. Use theliquid organic fertiliser mentioned in the answer to thefirst question. If this doesn’t solve the problems, pleaseget back to me and I will make alternative suggestions.Q: I have a two year old orange tree but it doesn’t fruit.What shall I do about this? Also, there are lots ofbutterfly larvae on it. How can I get rid of them?A: Patience my gardening friend! Orangetrees don’t begin fruiting until they are atleast four to five years old, some take evenlonger. Feed and irrigate your tree regularlyto keep it in tip-top health. As for the larvae,these are probably moths not butterflies andcan badly damage your tree. If there are not too manypick them off by hand, otherwise spray them with amixture of one tablespoon liquid soap, two tablespoonscooking oil, one tablespoon baking soda made up toone gallon with warm water. This should suffocatethem nicely! Repeat at two week intervals if the bugsdo not disappear at first try.Q: My four date palms are now one year old but theyonly have four leaves. How can I speed up theirgrowth?A: You can’t! Date palms grow very slowly indeed.Ensuring that they have adequate, organic nourishmentin the form of old, well rotted manure, will help themto retain their strength but will not speed up theirnatural growing process.Q: I reside in Sukkur and would like to know if citrusfruit can be grown in large pots.A: Yes. Citrus fruits can be cultivated, verysuccessfully, in large clay pots and other suitablecontainers. Lemons, particularly Chinese ones, do wellin pots as do both grapefruit and small to medium sizeorange trees. If you can find kumquat trees then thesethrive exceptionally well in pots. Good luck!Please continue sending your gardening queries tozahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include yourlocation. Answers to selected questions will appear ina future issue of the magazine. This takes time. Thewriter will not respond directly by e-mail. E-mails withattachments will not be opened.The writer’s garden is private property; no trespassingplease.A walk through the jungleFor those who have a flair for a serene walk through woods, Thandiani-NathiaGali track is an attractive option in the summersThe News on Sunday, June 20, 2010By Irfan AhmadIT had become very dark in the Dagri jungle, said to bethe home of leopards. The three of us were quite tired,having started rather late from Thandiani. A slighterror in time management and we ended up in the darkforest, still an hour's walk from our destination -- theDagri Forest Rest House. We cursed our guide whoPakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010