Rattan Cultivations
Almost all the rattan that
enters world trade has been collected from the wild from tropical rain
forests. With forest destruction and conversion, the habitat of rattans
has decreased rapidly in extent over the last few decades and there is
now a very real shortage of supply. In the mid 1970s, forest
departments in South-east Asia became aware of the vulnerability of
rattan supply and began investigations aimed at safeguarding the long
term supply of canes for the industry. Cultivation of canes presents
the best possibility for the future. Early research examined
pre-existing cultivation. In one small area of Indonesian Borneo rattan
has been cultivated in permanent rattan gardens on land adjacent to
rivers that flood severely and for prolonged periods. This land, that
is more or less unsuitable for any other permanent form of agriculture
because of the flooding and very acid soils, appears to be ideal for
the cultivation of one rattan, Calamus trachycoleus. Here, villagers
have developed a method of cultivation that has been used as a model
for rattan cultivation elsewhere, whether on flooded or dry land.
However, this species has a cane of small diameter (6-12 mm); large
diameter canes (in excess of 18 mm) are needed to produce the framework
of cane chairs, and a major focus of rattan research has been to find
large diameter canes that are suitable for domestication and
cultivation in a variety of habitats.
During the late 1970s
commercial estates of rattan were established in Sabah, East Malaysia.
Commercial rattan planting is still a risky business as there is still
so much that is unknown about the growing of rattans. However, growth
rates in the new estates have been amazing - small diameter Calamus
trachycoleus and the best large diameter cane Calamus manan have both
been recorded as growing as fast as over 6 m a year. Several estates
have already reached harvestable age and the financial returns from the
estates seem promising. There are also some unexpected benefits from
rattan planting.
Benefits of rattan cultivation
In order to grow properly rattan has to be planted under some sort of
tree cover, such as logged-over forest, secondary forest, fruit
orchards, tree plantations or, even, rubber estates. Thus rattan
planting preserves tree cover, and along with tree cover, where it is
semi-natural forest, wildlife is also maintained. One of the highest
populations of orang-utan in Borneo is in a rattan estate and over half
the wild species of rattans recorded for Sarawak have been recorded as
occurring wild within the boundaries of another rattan estate. Such
commercial planting thus offers attractive prospects for wise land use
in the humid tropics, allowing a crop to be grown with minimal
disturbance of the vegetation. However, perhaps the most exciting
potential of rattan is as a small-holder crop. Some rattans lend
themselves to cultivation on a small scale under fruit trees or in
rubber gardens. Such cultivation allows the small holder to gain extra
cash returns from a small area of land.
Rattan research at Kew
With over 600 species to choose from and a huge geographical,
altitudinal and ecological range, choosing the right cane for the right
habitat is clearly a complex process. What is certain is that the basic
classification of rattans is of great importance to the further
development of the wild resource - we must know what species we are
trying to cultivate and how to distinguish it from other species of
rattans at all stages of development from seed to mature plant. Kew
plays a vital role in the basic research on rattans in providing the
taxonomic framework for development. Kew scientists now have wide
experience in rattans, their natural history, economic potential and
cultivation requirements.
Current research needs for the
further development of rattan that are being addressed at Kew include
the search for more species suitable for plantations. At present we
know enough to cultivate a mere four or five of the 600 different
species of rattan, and these are all species of the ever wet lowlands
of the Malay Archipelago. There is a real need to broaden this base, to
look for further elite species from which selections can be made, to be
used eventually in the breeding of new strains. |
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