A heatwave is under way all around, and tree felling is being blamed for it. For various reasons people are cutting trees and clearing forests to build homes, factories and institutions. Suffering from the heat, everyone is now advising people to plant trees. But first we need to know when is the right time to plant, and which tree should be planted where.

Here is a guide to which saplings should be planted where.

June, July and August are the right months for planting saplings, so this is the time to plant the right saplings in the right places. Saplings can be collected from tree fairs or nurseries. More attention should be given to fruit and medicinal trees, which give fruit, medicine and timber. Saplings should be planted in flood-free places with good air flow and sunlight.

Trees can be planted in front of and around mosques, temples, churches, schools, colleges, offices, courts, madrasas, universities and other institutions. Debdaru, coconut, areca nut, palmyra palm, date palm, neem, palm, jhau, krishnachura, mango, jackfruit and lychee suit such places.

Saplings can be planted in tubs on the roofs of concrete houses. Orange, guava, jujube, pomelo, pomegranate, henna and lychee can be grown here.

• South side: plant small, less bushy trees for sun and light, such as areca nut, coconut, neem, debdaru, papaya, guava, lemon, pomelo, pomegranate and henna.
• East and west: plant medium-tall, medium-bushy trees, so the yard gets light morning and evening. Baukul, apple kul, sapodilla, Amrapali mango, lychee, date palm, pomegranate, banana, custard apple, wood apple and guava can be planted here.
• North side: big, tall trees protect against storms. Mango, jackfruit, jam, star fruit, mahogany, sissoo, teak, haritaki, acacia and bamboo can be planted here.

Mango, jackfruit, jam, star fruit, mahogany, sissoo, teak, haritaki, acacia, debdaru, coconut, areca nut, date palm, neem, palm, jhau, krishnachura and bamboo should be planted.

Shade trees should be planted at haats and bazaars: mango, jackfruit, jam, teak, debdaru, areca nut, date palm, neem, palm, krishnachura and banyan.

• Roadsides: plant tall trees whose branches can be pruned, such as mahogany, sissoo, teak, haritaki, acacia, debdaru, coconut, areca nut, date palm, neem, palm, jhau, krishnachura, babla, ipil-ipil and shimul.
• Both sides of paths and feeder roads: sissoo, neem, debdaru, champa, ipil-ipil, painnagola or lukluki, mandar, palita mandar, pania mandar, babla, khair, bakphul, palmyra palm and date palm.
• Highways: krishnachura, kanakchura, rain tree, gagan shirish, rajkoroi, shilkoroi, sissoo, mahogany, arjun, debdaru, sonalu, neem, nageshwar, acacia, bakul, palash, telsur, jhau and bottle palm.
• Beside railway lines: mahogany, sissoo, teak, acacia, debdaru, coconut, areca nut, date palm, neem, palm and shimul.
• Embankments: trees with strong, spreading roots, such as banyan, amra, bamboo, mahogany, sissoo, teak, acacia, debdaru, coconut, areca nut and date palm.

On field ridges, plant trees with less spreading roots and less shade, whose branches can be pruned, such as mahogany and debdaru. Trees can also be planted inside fields; eucalyptus can be chosen here, with a few such trees planted far apart in crop fields.

In the Barind area, mango trees are being planted widely on earth mounds built in paddy fields, and many trees are planted on field ridges too. In many places palmyra palms planted on ridges have brought extra profit. Besides palmyra, date palm, areca nut, babla, bokain, jiga, koroi, eucalyptus and palita mandar can be planted.

• Low land: plant trees that tolerate waterlogging, such as pitali, cane, murta, bamboo, mandar, jarul, hijal and kadam.
• Pond banks: trees that hold the soil and look attractive, such as areca nut, coconut, neem, debdaru, papaya, guava, lemon and pomegranate.
• Riverbanks: plant water-tolerant, strong, sturdy trees that grow large, such as shimul, chhatim, pitali, cane, bamboo, murta, mandar, jarul, hijal and kadam.
• Beels: where water stands two or three months a year, hijal, koroch, biyas, pitali, jarul, mandar, barun, palash, kadam, chalta, putijam, dhepajam, royna or pitraj, and arjun can be planted.

On newly formed chars in coastal areas, keora, bain, kankra, garan and golpata can be planted. On coastal chars that are a little higher and normal, where tidal water does not rise, babla, jhau, sonbolui, white koroi, black koroi, jarul and rain tree can be planted. Outside the coast, on chars formed in rivers, jhau, lona jhau, pitali, koroch and pani biyas can be planted.

On the coast, salt-tolerant trees with light foliage should be planted, such as sundari, chhaila, garan, gewa, golpata, mandar, koroi, babla and coconut.

On high hills, oranges and various other citrus, lychee, mango, guava, black pepper, ginger and pineapple have spread successfully on much hill land. Besides these, telsur, chapalish, chikrashi, shilkoroi, garjan, gamar, teak, ipil-ipil, bamboo and cashew can meet the demand for timber.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.