The Forest department is gearing up to launch the second phase of the drive to eradicate Senna spectabilis (calceolaria shower), an invasive plant species known for its rampant growth, in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).
A recent study, jointly conducted by Ferns, a nature conservation society based in Wayanad, and the department revealed that the wild growth of the plant and its copious nature had been posing a serious threat to the flora and fauna in the NBR for the past one decade.
The Forest department has been granted ₹46 crore to eradicate the plants, which includes ₹40 crore under the Rebuild Kerala Development Programme and ₹6 crore from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard). Of which, a sum of ₹6 crore had been allotted for the eradication of the plant during the 2022- 2023 financial year. Trees above 10-cm girth would be girdled and below that size would be uprooted under the project.
“We have debarked as many as 1.5 lakh Senna trees in the sanctuary at a cost of ₹1 crore so far and the debarking process would be resumed in December by utilising the remaining amount,” said Dinesh Kumar, warden, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
In debarking method, the bark of the trees is removed below the collar region up to 1-metre height including the inner thinner bark, and the base (nodal area of the plant) will be covered with soil.
The method was a huge success as nearly 70% of the debarked trees on 1,700 hectares of the 34,444 hectares were destroyed, Mr. Dinesh said. But he added that the root suckers started to sprout on the remaining trees and they would be destroyed in a similar manner.
“The debarking process in seven blocks of the 45 blocks in two of the four forest divisions of the sanctuary have been completed and the process would resume in the remaining blocks after the monsoon,” he added. The uprooting of senna plants would begin by the first week of August in those areas that were debarked and the customisation process for the purpose was under way, he said.
“We are planning to use services of students and NGOs to uproot the plants on a small scale during the Vanamahotsav week that begins on July 1,” Mr . Dinesh said.
