Abstract

Canes occur naturally as an undergrowth in evergreen, semievergreen and to some extent in moist deciduous forests in Kerala, but gregarious occurrence is met with only under specialised conditions. Microrelief, water availability, water retention capacity and depth of the soil and overhead light are the important conditions for the growth of the species. Very little is known about the ecological conditions required for the growth of cane while data on soils are virtually absent. This paper attempts to highlight the following peculiarities in natural and planted cane areas: 1. topography 2. water availability 3. soil physical and chemical properties 4. overstorey characteristics 5. light availability and 6. cane growth