Extension and Training (E&T)

The Division liaises with the users /stakeholders in addressing the problems by the concerned scientists, facilitates transfer of technology to various stakeholders and conducts training programmes in different aspects of tropical forestry like forest management, forest seed management, medicinal plant cultivation, environmental impact assessment, biodiversity monitoring and evaluation, remote sensing and GIS, root-trainer technology, clonal propagation, tree improvement and statistical application in forestry.

 

Technical support is provided to the Kerala Forest Department, other governmental and non-governmental agencies and farmers on site-species matching, site selection and nutrient status, fertiliser dosage, pest and disease control and conservation, utilization and marketing of timber of forest species. Advice on resource survey and estimation as well as wildlife management and census are also provided. The Institute undertakes identification of plants, insects, animals and timber. Quality seeds and seedlings are also supplied at reasonable cost. Some of the technologies transferred to stakeholders include:

  1. Processing and chemical treatment of rubber wood.

  2. Termite control in eucalypt plantations.

  3. Oil curing of rattan for value addition, disease resistance and durability.

  4. Eucalypt clones and promising provenances for increasing productivity.

  5. Vegetative propagation of bamboo through cum cuttings.

  6. Nursery techniques of rattans.

  7. Nursery and plantation practices of selected indigenous tree species.

  8. Root-trainer technology for teak and eucalypts for high quality seedling production.

  9. Teak clones for improved productivity.

  10. Bamboo nursery and plantation technology.

  11. Volume-weight relationship of eucalypt and bamboo for fixing prices by the Kerala Forest Department.

  12. Biological control of the teak defoliator using HpNPV.

 

Training
Training programmes and refresher courses are designed and conducted for managerial and field personnel, teachers, artisans, entrepreneurs and representatives of local bodies. Some of the training programmes conducted during the past are: modern trends in tropical nursery practices, tissue culture of forest trees and medicinal plants, conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants, orientation course on remote sensing and GIS, forest seed management, environmental impact assessment and effect of weeds on productivity of forest plantations and natural forests and different cost-effective methods for their control. Consultancy services are offered on plantation establishment and management, greening up of industrial areas, afforestation of coastal areas with mangrove species, benchmark studies, environmental impact assessment, etc.
Silviculture

Dr. KC Chacko

Forest Pathology

Dr. EJ Maria Florence

Zoology-Limnology

Dr. Mohan Das