Ailanthus excelsa, Roxb.
Family: Simaroubaceae

Common Name : Maharukh

Telugu Name : Peddamanu
General :
Found everywhere, generally around villages and old forts and broken ground, but is seldom found in the forests. It is able to adopt itself to a variety of soils including loamy or sandy soils. It prefers welldrained soil and avoids clayey and waterlogged soils. Identified by light grey bark with large conspicuous leaf scars and long paripinnate leaves crowded at the end of the branches.
Flowering :
Greenish yellow flowers in large panicles appear in January-February
Fruiting :
Fruits ripen in April-May.
Morphology of the Fruit/Seed :
Fruit of 1 to 5 samaras, 3 to 5 cms in length, narrowed at both the ends, winged with prominent veins. The fruit is twisted at the base. Seed one at the centre, compressed.
Seed Collection and Storage :
The brownish fruit bunches at the end of the branches are cut because of the possibility of blowing away by wind. Then they are dried in the sun, beaten and winnowed to separate the seeds. Seeds lose viability rapidly and hence to be used immediately.
Seed Biology :

No.of seeds per kg.

Purity percent

Moisture percentage

Germination percentage

Plant percent

Time taken for germination in days

9500 to 10,000

92

5

70 to 90

70

10 to 20
Pretreatment :
Not essential
Nursery Technique :
Seedlings can be raised to polybags or well-worked, raised nursery beds in drills about 20 cms apart in June. The seeds after sowing is covered with a thin layer of fine soil of 5 mm thick. Seedlings are liable for damping off and hence care should be taken in watering. Young seedlings are susceptible for insect attack.