 |
Tropentag, October 5 - 7, 2004 in Berlin
|
Effect of Time and Intensity of Tapping on ‘talh Gum' Yield of Acacia Seyal Var. Seyal in South Kordofan, Sudan
Kamal E. M. Fadl1, Jens Gebauer2
1Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), El Obeid Research Station, Sudan
2Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Gezira Research Station, Sudan
Abstract
Acacia seyal var. seyal locally known as ‘Talh' is the most widespread Acacia species in the Sudan. It is an important multipurpose tree providing firewood, building materials and fodder. The species also produces gum, which is collected in some areas. However, little information is available about the tapping possibilities of A. seyal var. seyal for gum production.
An experiment was set up to investigate the effect of tapping time and tapping intensity on gum yield of A. seyal var. seyal. The experiment was conducted at Umfakarin forest reserve (South Kordofan). The experimental design adopted was a 2-factor randomised complete block design with three replications. The first factor was time of tapping, which was tested in three levels (1st Nov., 15th Nov. and 1st Dec.). The second factor was tapping intensity, which was tested in four levels (2, 4, 6 and 8 branches). Each block was divided in four sub-plots and each sub-plot represent an experimental unit. Unit size was 10×10 m with an average of five trees (500 trees/ha). The first collection of gum took place 30 days after the tapping, followed by three further collections in an interval of 30 days. The yield of each tree was determined by weighing the gum after each collection.
The results clearly shows that A. seyal var. seyal produces the highest gum yield when it was tapped on the 1st of Nov.. The total gum yield of the 2, 4, 6 and 8 branch tapping was 203, 179, 184 and 177 g/tree, respectively. However, when trees were tapped on the 1st Dec. the total gum yield per tree of the 2, 4, 6 and 8 branches decreased by 41%, 34%, 51% and 43%, respectively. The tapping intensity did not show a clear effect on the yield production of the A. seyal var. seyal trees.
In conclusion, the result indicate that the tapping time had a stronger influence on the ‘Talh Gum' yield rather than the amount of tapped branches.
We are grateful to the ‘Alexander von Humboldt Foundation' for awarding a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship to Dr. Jens Gebauer.
Keywords: Acacia senegal, Hashab, non wood forest product, Sudan, Talh Gum, tapping
Contact Address: Jens Gebauer, Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Gezira Research Station, P.O. Box 126, 126 Wad Medani, Sudan, e-mail: jens.gebauer
rz.hu-berlin.de
