Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has transplanted a 30-year-old neem tree.
A release said that for the first time the university had transplanted a tree.
It took up the transplantation of the tree that was at the entrance of the 113-year-old Botanical Garden to pave the way for the construction of a golden jubilee arch, erected to mark the 50 years of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
The University deployed a team of scientists led by Dean, Horticultural College and Research Institute, L. Pugalendhi, to transplant the tree, called ‘burlapping’. The team lopped the canopy and small branches, treated the cut ends with fungicide and then covered those with moistened straw and jute fabric to prevent transpirational loss of water.
The team took up the exercise based on instructions from Vice-Chancellor N. Kumar who did not want the tree chopped.
A day prior to burlapping the neem tree, the team, comprising Dean, Agricultural College and Research Institute, M. Kalyanasundaram, Professor and Head, Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture K. Rajamani, watered the earth around the tree for easy removal of the root ball.
On the day, it trimmed the smaller root branches while taking care to not damage the tap root.
It then engaged a crane to transplant the tree to a new location, a few feet away, the release added.
