Abstract

In the past, rattan industries in Kerala received the raw material collected from natural forests through Forest Department. Reduction in the area of natural forests due to biotic and climatic factors affected the availability of rattans. During the last decade, the Department was forced to introduce a ban on the extration of rattans to protect the existing resources. It was during this period that Kerala Forest Research Institute initiated a programme to find out the feasiblity of enrichment planting of selected rattan species in natural forests. Experimental plots with four species, viz. Calamus hookerianus, C. pseudotenuis, C. rotang and C. thwaitesi, were established in 1988. C. hookersianus and C. pseudotenuis were planted in Nelliampathey, and C. rotang and C. thwaitessi were planted in Nilambur. Planting locations were selected on the basis of the information on the natural distribution of the selected species in the state. Suckers extracted from the wild and