Casuarina equisetifolia: an old-timer with a new future
Casuarina equisetifolia Forst. & Forst. (syn. C litorea L),
is the most widespread ant well-known member of the family Casuarinaceae, ant
has many names: casuarina, ironwood, coast she-oak, horsetail, Australian pine,
whistling pine, beefwood, agoho (Philippines), ru (Malaysia), filao (Vietnam,
West Africa, West lndies) ant nokonoko (Fiji). All the casuarinas are
nitrogen-fixing. Casuarinas support an actinorhiza symbiont in their root
nodules, as opposes to the rhizabium symbiont found in the root nodules of
leguminous trees that fix N2.
C equisetifolia has two variants. C equisetifolia var. incana is
a small (6-10 m) tree that grows exclusively alone the coast of Queensland and
northern New South Wales. Var. equisetifolia is a tall (10-40 m) tree fount on
seacoasts from Malaysia to subtropical Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, the
Philippines ant Polynesia.
BOTANY.
Like other Casuarinaceae, C equisetifolia has a conifer-like
appearance which is increased by hanging green branchlets ant cone-iike fruits.
Casuarinas are actually typical angiosperms with simplified and reduces
unisexual flowers. They are dioecious or monoecious, the proportion of male,
female and monoecious trees varying widely from one site to another. The stem of
Casuarinaceae is composed of two parts indeterminate persistent branches which
after secondary thickening, form the permanent above-growt plant body; ant
determinate deciduous branchlets (incorrectly called cladodes), about 15-25 mm
in diameter. These branchlets are the major photosynthetic organs of the plant
(Torrey ant Berg 1988). The leaves are reduced to white or brown scales fuses
laterally at the base in whorls that define notes on the branchlets.
Individual plants have striking phenotypic variations in the
crown shape, branch angle, length of branchlets ant size ant shape of cones C
equisetifolia is known to hybridize with other casuarinas, such as C
junghuhniana and C glauca..
ECOLOGY.
Casuarina cquisetifolia is intolerant of frost. Var. incana
thrives in the warm subhumid zone while var. equisetifolia is a heat-loving
plant of the hot subhumid zone. Although C equisetifolia is generally a lowland
tree, it grows at altitudes up to about 600 m in Hawaii.
Casuarina equisetifolia structures
including 1) photosynthetic green branchlets, 2) fruit,, 3) female flower, 4)
seed and 5) male flower.
C equisetifolia tolerates a wide range of moisture availability.
C equisetifolia grows best along the coast, where sea spray supplements moisture
from the water table in arid ant semiarid climates with average annual rainfall
<300 mm. C equisetifolia's N2-fixing ability seems to depend wholly on the
availability of adequate soil moisture.
C equisetifolia tolerates both calcareous ant slightly alkaline
soils, but withstands salinity less well than C glauca and C obesa. It thrives
in sandy soils ant grows poorly on clay soils, with some exceptions. It cannot
stand to be waterlogget long.
USES.
The wood of C equisetifolia is dark brown, very hart (density
1000 kg/m3), ant resistant to decomposition in soil or saltwater. It is often
used as round wood for making piles, poles and fences, but splits too severely
during drying to be popular as lumber; although in areas with acute wood
shortages, such as southeastern China, C equsetifolia is used for house beams
ant simple furniture (Midgley et al. 1983).
Because of its high calorific value (ca. 5000 kcal/kg), C.
equisetifolia wood is an excellent source of fuel and charcoal. People in China
and India use stumps and even litter for fuel. use which also draws heavily on
soil phosphorus and potassium reserves.
Because of its resistance to salt-laden winds. C equisetifolia
is widely used to stabiles coastal sand dunes. It is also extensively planted as
windbreaks to protect crops. In some tropical lowland agroforestry systems it is
associated with crops such as coffee, cashew nut, coconut, groundnut, sesame and
various grain legumes.
C. equisetifolia and its hybrids are often used as ornamental
plants for urban beautification, parks and seaside resorts. There is also
potential for incorporating C. equisetifolia into mixed-species tree
plantations.
ROOT SYMBIOSES.
Root nodules are prolific on C. equisetifolia when they occur.
Effective strains of Frankia are now available to inoculate C. equisetifolia on
sites where the same Frankia-compatible group of trees (in principle any species
of the Casuarina genus) have not been previously planted.
When there are no limiting factors, the response to inoculation
is spectacular. Inoculation with Frankia entrapped in alginate beads is the most
convenient system (Sougoufara et se. 1989). Inoculation with crushed nodules,
which is sometimes practiced, should be discouraged because of the risk of
introducing nonnodulating or poorly effective strains and disseminating
soil-borne pathogens like Pseudomonas solanacearurn, a bacterium that causes
casuarina wilt. Prolonged waterlogging inhibits nodule development.
As in other actinorhizal plants, spontaneous endomycorrhizal
(YAM) infection occurs easily in C equisetifolia True ectomycorrhizae have,
however, been seldom reported, except in certain coastal areas of northern
Australia where a wide range of fungi are involved (Paul Reddell, pers. comm.).
Proteoid roots have also been observed on their root systems. These are unique
structures made of tightly packed rows of rootless which may increase the
ability of the host plant to absorb nutrients and thereby better tolerate
nutrient deficient soils.
SILVICULTURE.
Ripe green cones are collected from branches lopped from mature
trees and dried in the sun. One kg of green cones yields 20-60 g of seeds. There
are 300,000-700,000 cleaned seeds/kg. The seeds have a relatively low viability
of 80-90% for fresh seeds and 3040% for seeds after 3 years storage. Germination
is usually complete within 2 weeks after planting.
At 6-10 weeks the 10-15 cm high seedlings are transplanted into
containers where they are grown for 5-8 months to a height of 50-70 cm, at which
time they are transplanted to the field. Another procedure is to transplant the
10-15 cm seedlings in a new bed at a 10 x 10 cm spacing to obtain plants ready
to be planted bare rooted in the field. Cuttings and microcuttings can be used
when working with clones.
C. equisetifolia does not sucker as vigorously as C. glauca.
Plantation planting density is usually around 2,000 plants/ha but private
farmers can plant up to 8,000 to 10,000 trees/ha (Midgley et al. 1983).
C. equisetifolia can be improved by exploiting the large
phenotypic variation of its populations. There are essentially two approaches to
increase both wood production and N2-fixation potential: conventional
plant breeding and screening of elite individuals followed by vegetative
propagation.
The N2-fixing potential of C equisetifolia can be
greatly enhanced through the use of selected clones inoculated with effective
Frankia strains. Clone beta of C equisetifolia inoculated with strain ORS021001
and irrigated throughout the dry season in Senegal, fixed 45 g
N2/yr/tree during the two first years of growth (Dommergues.
unpublished data). Extrapolating this result gives a figure of 90 kg of
N2 fixed annually/ha at a planting density of 2,000 trees/ha.
YIELD.
Compared to some of the other casuarinas, C equisetifolia is
relatively short-lived, surviving only 40-50 years. Its growth is rapid during
the first 7 years (15-25 m/yr), then gradually declines. In general, the volume
yield reaches a maximum at age 15-20 years (7-10 m /ha yr-1). The
yield could probably be greatly increased by using selected clones and applying
proper management practices, including irrigation and inoculation with effective
Frankia strains. C. equisetifolia plantations are generally managed on a
rotation of 7-15 years.
PESTS AND DISEASES:
C equisetifolia is not prone to any serious pest and diseases,
except when grown in unfavorable conditions. Pests that attack the tree include
crickets and grasshoppers (Chondracis rosea, Schistocerca gregaria), defoliators
(Lymantria xylina), stem borers (spate monachus) and sap feeders (Icerya spp.).
The major root diseases are caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum, Trichosporium
vesiculorum and Rhizoctonia spp.
PRINCIPLE REFERENCES:
Midgley, S.J., J.W. Turnbull and R.D. Johnston (eds). 1983.
Casuarina Ecology, Management and
Utilization. CSIRO, Melbourne.
Sougoufara, B., H.G. Diem and Y.R. Dommergues. 1989. Response of
field-grown Casuarina equisetifolia to inoculation with Frankia strain ORS021001
entrapped in alginate beads. Plant and Soil 118:133-137.
Torrey, J.G. and R.H. Berg. 1988. Some morphological features
for generic characterization among the Casuarinaceae. Amer. J. Bot. 75:864-874.
NFTA 91-05 July
1991
