The 1003 pongamia saplings planted at Nainar Kuppam [NK] on Sep 04, are a test bed for several questions that require answers.

  1. There is not much recorded experience with growing pongamia close to the sea. There are reports of it growing on the Andaman Islands and on the Florida coast in the US. There are also reports of its planting in China as part of a mangrove stand development. NK plantation is within 100 metres of the water line.
  2. More specifically, there is local fear that salty air may encrust the leaves, reduce photosynthesis and stunt or kill the trees. A related question is how will they endure the impossibly hot sands during summers.
  3. The saplings planted are of the grafted variety supplied by Sustainable Transformations Pvt Ltd [STPL], Bangalore headed by Prof Udipi Shrinivasa. The idea is to repeat the success with grafting fruit trees, notably mango. Ordinary young pants are grafted with scions from known high yielding trees with a view to:
    • Assure high yields
    • Lead plants to flowering in quicker time
    • Keep them short to facilitate harvesting and increase land use
    It is to be seen if the success with mango is repeated in pongamia. STPL supply programme of grafted saplings is only about 2 years old. As such there are no yielding grafted trees yet, to offer evidence. Naturally, there is no count of their yields. STPL's expectation is that grafted trees should begin flowering in 3 years and begin steady yields the next year; yields should be about 10 kg per year. NK will confirm or modify these expectations,
  4. A social question involved is, how villagers feel down the line. Currently, though the months long ground work has engendered a genuine enthusiasm for the biodiesel idea, it cannot be ignored the villagers were also influenced by the tsunami relief programme managed by D V Sridharan as the President of ECCO. ECCO donated boats, engines and nets worth over Rs.17 lakhs. With the passage of time as memories of these gifts fade, will pongamia by itself hold their attention? Will they water and care for the plants?
  5. NK is intended to be a model project. Will it inspire other fishing communities to follow suit? Unless that happens, true fuel self-sufficiency is difficult to sustain. If it does happen, vast coastal lands will sport diesel groves.