Agroforestree Database

Local names:
 English (himalayan cedar,deodar cedar,deodar), French (cedre de l'himalaya), German (himalaja- zeder), Hindi (diar,deodar,dedwar), Italian (cedro dell'Himalaia), Spanish (cedro del himalaya,cedro de la India), Trade name (diar,deodar)

Cedrus deodara is a large evergreen, dioecious tree, to 65 m tall and more than 4 m DBH, crowns become rounded or broad and flat with horizontal or slightly ascending or descending branches, which are not whorled but arise irregularly from the stem. The bark is greyish brown, dark, almost black, with vertical and diagonal cracks dividing it into irregular oblong scales.

Leaves solitary, acicular, stiff, sharp-pointed, 25-37 mm long, silvery or silvery-blue, on the normal long shoots spirally arranged, and on the short arrested shoots in pseudowhorls.

Male flowers solitary and erect or catkins, pale green to yellowish green with purplish tinge, oblong, ovoid, and 2.5 to 4.6 cm long by 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter. On opening they elongate rapidly to 5-7.5 cm in length and become yellow with pollen. The female flowers are solitary and erect at the end of arrested branchlets; flowers, at the time of pollination, are oblong, ovoid, 1.2 to 2.0 cm long and 0.6 cm in diameter, pale glaucous green. The scales occur in a spiral of 8 x 5; at the time of pollination they stand perpendicular to the axis, exposing ovules and close after pollination. 

Cones solitary or in pairs, erect, ovoid or ellipsoidal, 7.5-12 cm long and 5-8.7 cm in diameter with numerous fan-shaped scales arranged in spiral of 8 x 5 on persistent woody central axis, rounded at the apex, bluish when young, reddish-brown when ripe. On each scale rests a pair of winged seeds. 

Seed triangular, winged, 2.5 to 3.7 cm long; wings with rounded corners, 2-2.5 cm broad.

Ecology

C. deodara occurs on moderate to precipitous slopes on rocky precipitous slopes, generally dominating cool northern slopes where it usually forms pure crops of considerable extent. It is typically a gregarious tree, a light demander, frequently found in the form of pure stands. It tolerates drought at advanced age, but not at the seedling stage. The trees are also resistant to atmospheric pollution.

Native range
Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan

Tree management

In young crops, whether natural or artificial, tending operations consist of weeding for 3-4 years. Cleaning may also be carried out to free the trees from suppression by blue pine trees. Thinnings are a very necessary operation but are rarely carried out. They should begin early, repeated at intervals of about 10 yrs, for gradual opening of the crop to make it hardy for snow damage and to remove suppressed and damaged trees.

Deodar forests for a long time have been managed through a selection system under which selection fellings with a definite felling cycle are carried out. Trees with a minimum exploitable diameter of are selected for felling. The rotation period is 120 years when they have exploitable diameter of 55 cm and regeneration period of 30 years. The forests respond well to regeneration fellings, and conversion to a uniform silvicultural system.

Seed storage behaviour is recalcitrant. The maximum cone weight (226.5 gm/cone), seed weight/cone (16.86 mg) and seed yield (7.44%) as recorded in the tree diameter class of 41-50 cm. There are about 8000 seeds/kg.

C. deodara occurs on moderate to precipitous slopes on rocky precipitous slopes, generally dominating cool northern slopes where it usually forms pure crops of considerable extent. It is typically a gregarious tree, a light demander, frequently found in the form of pure stands. It tolerates drought at advanced age, but not at the seedling stage. The trees are also resistant to atmospheric pollution.

C. deodara is normally propagated by seeds and grafting on selected cultivars onto seedlings. Where conditions are favourable the natural tendency of deodar is to regenerate in groups or masses of more or less even age in the neighborhood of seed bearers, either in gaps of sufficient size or in completely isolated situations. 

Artificial establishment of plantations is through patch sowing, line sowing and planting of nursery stock. Planting of nursery stock is the cheapest method of securing established plantations in the shortest time. The seeds are oily and soon lose their viability. Good fresh seeds are however usually highly viable. Seeds need specialized pre-treatment before germination. This involves soaking them in water for 24 hours. Ectomycorrhizas are found associated with this tree, therefore treatment of seed with mycorrhizal fungi significantly increases plant biomass.

It can also be propagated vegetatively with enhanced survival of plantlets by treating its green woodcuttings with auxins, NAA hormones and other plant growth regulators such as aminobenzotriazole. Rooting of cuttings is significantly improved if they are treated with 0.5% IAA-talc or 1% NAA-charcoal, and 0.25% NAA-talc.

It’s a good re-vegetation species

Erosion control: It’s a soil conservation and erosion control species in the Himalayas

It provides an excellent fuelwood

Timber: The wood is white to light yellowish brown, with a characteristic odour and oily feel. It is straight-grained, medium fine and somewhat uneven-textured. Its average weight is 560 kg/m3. The heartwood is very durable but insects and fungi attack sapwood. Deodar is an important structural timber tree. Its wood is highly valuable and extensively used for building, railway sleepers, carriage and railway wagon work and other purposes for which durability is required. It is used in house building, beams, floorboards, door and window frames, furniture and general carpentry. It also produces quality plywood. 

Shade or shelter: Its shelterwoods increases dry land pasture productivity as in New Zealand.

Medicine: Essential oils extracted from deodar and from cedar of Lebanon have been used as antiseptics and against tuberculosis, in Asia. Its oil and extracts are used as insecticides and herbal remedies against many animal diseases in India. The herbal pesticide Pestoban is a liquid concentrate of three Indian medicinal plants including Cedrus deodara. It is also a potent molluscicide.

Ornamental: This species is grown as an ornamental and in amenity plantations in its native range and many countries into which it was introduced