In our forestry practices short rotation is .a new
term. By short rotation we are used to the thinkings of
80 years or 100 years or 120 years — a long-long period.
These were our. rotations in the past. Rotations that were
fixed on the statistical basis of growth and yield. These
days the concepts have changed. Economy has come in between
the growth and yield. This has given birth to rotations
in relation to best and earliest economic return. There

were difficulties in fixing up such rotations. The prin-
cipal one being the lack of reliable and adequate statis-
tical data. There was, however, available in hand an

experience of about one hundred years of artificial rege-
neration. Teak (Tectona grandis), the major species in

our plantations were seen flutting from the age of 4t
years and by the time these are 60 years old their growth
are still there, but the proportionate wastage from this
fluting was beyond any economic acceptability. Basing on
this a group of thinkers in the early sixties decided to
bring down the rotation of teak to 60 years. This is the
story of our first attempt to bring down the rotation. It
has no statistical basis, it has no supporting data, but
it seems logical and has been accepted and adopted.