Garjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus) is one of the most important species growing in the natural forests under Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts forest divisions. Attempts were made to establish Garjan plantations since 1923 and from the last decade more attention has been directed to raise Garjan plantation on wider areas. The prospects of these plantations have been studied in this paper in order to aid planners in fixing up physical targets for production and management, find an indication of long-run price behaviour of produced timbers and finally assess the rate of economic return of plantations.

The paper indicates the long-run gap between the demand for and supply of Garjan timber. Some major problems of managing Garjan plantation are pointed out and suggestions affecting the cost factors and yield position are made.

Experiments to determine the role of wounding and inoculation of fungi in the formation of the aromatic base, agar, in the wood of Agar tree (Aquilaria agallocha Roxb.) were conducted in two Agar plantations at Lawachara near Srimangal. Effects of (i) inoculation and wounding, (ii) open wound with or without oleoresinous deposits, and (iii) time of creation of open wounds on agar formation have been studied. Fungi associated with the early stages of agar formation were isolated and identified.

Formation of agar in the otherwise healthy whitish agar wood can be initiated by the creation of open wounds on the trunk of Agar tree. There is no primary role of any specific fungus in the formation of agar as was previously believed. Following open wounds, microbes existing in the air spora infect the wounded tissues. The response of the host to wounding and invasion by the pioneer micro-organisms result in the agar formation. Time of creation of the open wounds has a special bearing on agar formation. Suggestions for further studies are provided.

Air-layering on Dhakijam (Syzygium grande Wt. Wald.) and Garjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus Gaertn. F.) was done in sapling and adult trees with coconut fibre warp and polythene warp. Adult trees responded better than saplings in respect ofrooting. Higher percentage of rooting was observed with coconut fibre warp than with polythene warp. The maximum success achieved in adult trees of Dhakijam and Garjan was 96 per cent and 56 per cent respectively. Rooted air-layered ramets were collected and planted in 30×45 cm poly.hene bags in the nursery for further establishment.

Artificial induction of in situ aerial roots and rhizomes at the branch bases on the culms of Bambusa balcooa, B. nutans, B. polymorpha, B.vulgaris and Dendrocalamus giganteus was found possible by culmtop chopping and emerging culm removal treatments. Thin-walled bamboo, such as Melocanna baccifera did not respond to these treatments.

Such, aerially rooted and rhizomed branches were used as cuttings. Formation of active roots and rhizomes from these cuttings was significantly higher (60-93%) inside a fibre glass tent without mist than those placed in the open intermittent mist bed (0-7%).

Kraft pulping, in spite of its wide practice, suffers from some serious disadvantages, such as the odour problems, lower pulp yield and high investment requirements. To overcome these difficulties considerable efforts have already been made. In this paper, feasibilities of alternative methods to kraft pulping have been examined and discussed.

A kraft mill, even by utilizing the best available technology, cannot be made completely odour-free. However, there are several sulphide-free and non-sulphur pulping methods. Among these, sodaanthraquinone (AQ) pulping process seems to be promissing.

The most practised chemical to-day is the kraft process. 95% of the present production of chemical 74 Pulp yield can be increased by using polysulphide, H2S or AQ in the cook. The first two are used exclusively in kfraft cooking, and so the odour problem cannot be overcome. AQ on the other hand, is also suitable in a sulphur-free cook which eliminates the odour problem of the pulp mill. Soda-AQ pulping is more suitable with hardwoods.

There is an ample opportunity of reducing the investment cost in a kraft mill by replacing the conventional recovery furnace with alternative devices now under development or by eliminating some of the steps in the recovery cycle. There are also possibilities of eliminating the causticizing step and the lime kiln in any alkaline pulping process by replacing NaOH with disodium borate in cooking or by introduction of TiO₂, Fe₂O or ilmenite (FcO. TiO₂) in the recovery stage.

Seedlings of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis planted at Keochia Silvicultural Research Station, Chittagong in 1972 reached an average height of 14.0 m and started bearing fruits in 1982. The trees flowered during the months of January- February and cones ripened in August- September of the same year. Some seeds were hand-picked from two selected trees in 1982 and the seeds were extracted from the cones by exposing them in the sun. Germination experiment was carried out with them. The seeds were first tested by floatation process with 85% ethyl alcohol for finding out the empty seeds. After the test, 220 mature seeds were sown in polybags filled up with forest top soil. An appropriate quantity of chemical fertilizer was also applied. The tops of the bags was filled up with mycorrhizal soil collected from pine plantation. Out of 220 seeds 97 seeds germinated (44%). The growth rate was fair in the nursery and in the field their performance was encouraging. 70 seedlings out of 97 germinated ultimately survived (72%).

Based on availability and strength properties, eight indigenous species were selected as alternatives to Garjan for use as railway sleepers.
The sleepers were put to service test in the main track of the Bangladesh Railway. The performance of seven of them has been found satisfactory
and, therefore, are recommended for use as railway sleepers.

Loranthaceac includes semiparasitic plants which are known as mistletoes. In Bangladesh mistletoes attack a large number of hosts, viz., Gamar, Teak, Sal, Mango, Jackfruit and many ornamental plants. In the country 15 species under 7 genera of Loranthaceae have been recorded and their distribution have been discussed. The important hosts of mistletoes have been listed. A critical review on the biology and control of mistletoes has been presented. Attention has been drawn to generate adequate studies for appropriate control of the parasites in our context.

A small population of crab-eating macaque was located in the Whykheong region of the Cox’s Bazar Forest Division. The population is greatly threatened due to rapid expansion of shrimp cultivation in the area. The population status, food habit and distribution so far studied are presented in this paper. The possibilities of rehabilitating this species in other areas of Bangladesh have also been discussed.

Albizia falcataria Fosberg is a fast-growing exotic tree species. It was introduced into Bangladesh as a shade tree in the tea gardens. Diameter-height, age-diameter, age-height relationships and the growth pattern of the species have been investigated. At the end of the 8th year the MAI has been found to average about 31.0 m3/ha The total merchantable wood yield, excluding the branch wood and brush wood (5 cm top dia), at the end of 8th year has been found to be 248 m3/ha. Data collected from the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute Campus at Chittagong showed that the MAI was about 33 m3/ha. The total calculated yield from the same site was 402m3/ha at the end of the 10th growing season. The preliminary growth curves indicate that the rotation-age would be more than 10 years.