Description and Uses
Acacia melanoxylon (Tasmanian blackwood) is a
tropical
tree from
Southern Australia . It is mainly grown for its
timber crops
, which have a
long shelf life. The crop is harvested by
total removing. It starts flowering after
4 -
6 years. The yield will be
inapplicable, but in its top season there will be a yield of
20 meter/30 years. Other crop types include;
{missing data} . The
flower is used as
minor food . The
wood is used as "
anti-arthritic activity, tuberculose remedy, " with
Farnesol (5 -
8 ppm) as its significant
phytochemical. There is
no oil extracted by
no extraction method from the
tree's
seed/nut yielding
0.50% -
1.00% oil. The
tree's wood is called
Australian blackwood and has a density of
650 -
670 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the
tree's growing speed is
medium, it's energetic value is
4700 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is
medium. After
40 years the
tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal.
Acacia melanoxylon has a lifespan of
100 years.
Environmental limitations
The tree is
35 meters tall with a crown of
25 meters wide. The
tree prefers a planting distance of
600 cm and a row distance of
600 cm. It is
fast growing and
partial shade tolerant.
Acacia melanoxylon has a
deep root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the
Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae fungi
(endo-mycorrhiza). It is
able to fix nitrogen moderately with
"Bradyrhizobiaceae bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s)
"Bradyrhizobium ganzhouense ". The
tree's flower-morphology is
hermaphroditic and is pollinated by
bees.
Acacia melanoxylon is
evergreen and
allelopathic and has
no thorns.
Acacia melanoxylon thrives in an altitude of
1500 to
2300 meters above sea-level
(tropical). The minimum temperature is
-6°C; optimally between
6 -
19°C. The optimal rainfall is
1900
mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between
750 -
2300mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between
5.0 -
8.0 in a soil texture of
loam. To salt it is
tolerant to wind
tolerant and to fire
tolerant.
Pests and Diseases
Acacia melanoxylon is susceptible to the following pests:
Platypus
, Platypus externe-dentatus
, Platypus ratzenburgi
, Amphipsalta zelandica
, Dicranosterna semipunctata
. Aenetus virescens And it's susceptible to the following diseases:
Armillaria root rot ,
Peniophora root and stem cancer ,
Junghuhnia root disease .
Seed Propagation
Seeds are
orthodox and can be stored for
80 months. There are approximative
64000
seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:
- (1) Store harvested seeds dry at room temperature
- (3) Remove the seeds from cold to a permanent warm temperature.
- (2) Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before sowing.
