Dalbergia latifolia, Roxb.
Family : Leguminosae - Papilionioideaea
Common Name : Indian Rosewood
Telugu Name : Jittegi

General :

Found throughout Andhra Pradesh, in moist deciduous forests but more common along the Godavari, but nowhere abundant. Identified by full rounded crown and cylindrical, straight bole. It is drought resistant and a good coppicer. It prefers good, deep loam or clayey soil containing lime.

Flowering :

Whitish flowers in short axillary much-branched panicles appear in June to July.

Fruiting :
Pods ripen from December to March.
Morphology of the Fruit/Seed :
Pods 4 to 8 cms by 1.5 to 2.0 cms in size; oblong-lanceolate, abruptly narrowed to a stipe; flat, glabrous; 1 to 3 seeded.
Seed Collection and Storage :
The ripe dark brown pods are collected from the trees by lopping the branches in February to March, dried in the sun and broken. Extraction of clean seed is not necessary for sowing. Pods stored in gunny bags. Seeds lose their viability appreciably when kept for one year or more.
Seed Biology :
No. of seeds per Kg.
Germination percentage
Plant percent
No. of seedlings per Kg. of seed
Germination period in days
21,000
65
45
10,300
7 to 21

Pretreatment :

Not required.

Nursery Technique :

Seeds are sown in primary beds (porous sandy loam soil) in drills. Germination comes within 10 days and then the seedlings are transplanted into polythene bags. Shade is necessary.