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 Vo l. 3  No. 2 J u l y  2004
Mvule is Uganda's mostfamous tree. Big, slow-growing and beautiful, itonly grows in Africa. In west Africa, mvule iscalled iroko and is alsoprized. Mvule is now a threatened species. It has been over-harvestedand under-planted
.
In Uganda only the district forest officercan allow mvule to be cut. In practice,many people cut mvule anyhow anytime. We can now do something about this badsituation. With this
Tree Talk 
, schools in34 mvule-growing districts are receiving apacket of mvule seed. We can start a mvule growing campaign!Mvule seeds are hard to collect but nothard to germinate. Here is your schedule.
July:
plant the seeds in your schoolseed bed right away. The seeds will loose viability (life) if you delay. Don't worry about the dry season. Construct a shadeover the seedbed and keep it moist.
 August:
The seeds will germinate in 8-20 days. After 2-3 weeks put them intosmall pots. Choose a reliable teacher orstudent who lives near the school to waterthem over the Aug 20 -Sept 6 schoolbreak!
September
-
January:
care for your seedlings. Protect them fromanimals and always remember to water.
February:
plant the seedlings out. Digbig holes and fill them with good top soiland compost.Protect the young trees from animals andchildren. Nurture them as they grow.Mvule grows quite slowly but in two tothree years, you will have a mvule you cansit under. Brilliant. You have started yourmvule-growing campaign!
 Students of Atiri SS, Tororo, wait for the
 Straight Talk 
 team undera massive mvule. This tree is female and about 80 years old.
Be a hero
will send FREE mvule seed to the first1000 readers who write to Mvule Offer,PO Box 9815, Kampala. WRITE now for your free seed!
 Semei Kakungulu was afamous man whoplanted thousands ofmvule trees in easternUganda 100 years ago.Planting avenues of trees was something that big men did in those days. They hadpatience and vision."My grandfather, ChiefEngulu, planted the big
Mvule planted byKakungulu in Mbale
Mvule:king oftrees
 Semei Kakungulu,great mvule planter,in 1900
The oil of the sheabutter tree treats wounds on livestock.Do you use a tree for medicine? Write to
Tree Talk 
, PO Box 22366, K'la. Write how you use it. Send a drawing or photo.
Trees for medicine
mvule trees we see today in Soroti town,"says Minister of HealthMike Mukula.Let us also be heroic tree-planters!Every tree has itsspeed. While we plantfast-growing trees, letus also plant greatslow-growing trees likemvule for our heritage.
 the
Miti ni Mali 
book 
 W I N
Mvule:king oftrees
 j O I N  T H E ca m pa i g n t o  g r o w m v u l e !
With this
T T T T T ree T ree T ree T ree T ree T alk alk alk alk alk 
, 15,500 schoolsand 300 NGOs will receive free seedfor mvule, senna and calliandra! Seed can also be bought from theNational Tree Seed Centre,Namamve: 041-286049.
 
Tree Talk, July 2004
 2
Collecting mvule seed
 You cannot pick mvule seed from the ground. Youhave to climb the
Mvule for public places
 tree and collect the fruit.
This is tough work!To collect your seed,
Tree seedspecialistSebastain Walaitauses all hisstrength tohaul Felix  Achung upinto themvule.Felix is heldsafely by ropes andharnesses.He is one of only four trained high- tree climbersin Uganda.Felix haspicked many mvule fruits.Hiscolleagueshelp him tocome down from the treetop.Here are the fruits.They grow only on the female trees.Sebastianshovelsmvule fruit. Themachinemashes the fruit.
foresters from theNational Tree SeedCentre moved to Ngetta,Lira. Ngetta has some of 
COnsider a
The team washes thepulp in water. Theseeds float to thesurface.They areskimmed off and dried.
the finest mvule trees.Using harnesses andropes, the foresters spentdays in the tree tops.Then they mashed the fruitto extract the seed. Hereare photos of them at work.
The ecology of mvule
T 
 ree Talk 
supportsthe Uganda Forestry Policy 2001.This policy promotesforestry in villages,trading centres andtowns (urbanforestry).It also promotesplanting of trees onroad verges.Trees reduce theeffects of sun, rainand wind.
 All schools in the districts below will receive mvule seed.Plant it right away and care for it well! Adjumani  Apac• Arua• Bugiri• Bundibugyo• Busia • Gulu• Hoima• Iganga• Jinja• Kabarole• Kaberamaido• Kalangala• Kanungu• Kamuli• Kamwenge• Kasese • Katakwi• Kayunga• Kibaale •Kiboga•Kitgum• Kumi •Kyenjojo •Lira •Luwero• Masaka •Masindi•Mayuge •Mbale• Mbarara •Moyo •Mpigi• Mubende •Mukono•Nakasongola •Nakapiripirit •Nebbi •Ntungamo •Pader •Pallisa•Rakai •Rukungiri •Sembabule •Sironko • Soroti• Tororo •Wakiso•Yumbe
In nature, bats are the friendsof mvule. They eat the fruit anddefaecate the seeds.Sometimes the seeds germinatein the wild. But mvule is not a tree that spreads easily. Itneeds our help.
 
Tree Talk, July 2004
3
Teachers get
Tree Talk 
training
Otim Isaac, of AninataPS, Kotido, won "beststudent" for his openattitude and desire tolearn. Here he makes anursery bed.The teachers pose with eucalytpus seedlings.The course was held at Nyabyeya Forestry Collegein Masindi.
Tree Talk 
is sending calliandraseed to Bushenyi, Kabale,Kapchorwa and Kisoro.Do not let your school miss thebenefits of Calliandra. Thisagroforestry tree does many  wonderful things. Agroforestry is when you mixtrees with farming.Calliandra grows fast and isalmost a miracle tree for thesoil.Calliandra fixes nitrogen so it isa great pioneer plant forimproving fertility of poor soils. When you grow a hedge of Calliandra on a hill: it holds the soil• it increases the depth of thesoil• it helps the rain to go into thesoil.
How to germinate
Calliandra can be propagated by seedlings or direct sowing.
TreeTalk 
is sending you 200 seeds.Calliandra seed has a hard coat.So soak the seeds in cool waterfor 8 hours. Then remove theseed from the water and let it sitover night. Soak again for 8hours the next day. Drain it andlet it rest overnight again.Spread the seeds on the seedbedand cover with rough sand. Water daily.Germination takes place in 7-18days. Transplant seedlings intopots 3 days after germination.Make a shade to protect theseedlings from the sun. Continueto water the seedlings.Remove the shade after a monthto help the seedlings to get usedto life in the field. This is called“hardening off”.Seedlings can be planted in thefield when they are 18-20 cmhigh. Calliandra coppices nicely.
Moses Sempaja with Calliandra inMukono.
•Livestock: protect young trees with barbed wire, thorny branches or poles tied with reeds. Call a PTA or parents'meeting. It is usually parents who graze animals at theschool.•Termites: dig out the mounds and remove the queen.Plant termite-resistant trees like cassia or use chemi-cals.•Prolonged drought: plant indigenous trees. They aregood at withstanding drought. Water young treesduring dry season.
Challenges of tree-growing at school
Calliandra for rich soil, big harCalliandra for rich soil, big harCalliandra for rich soil, big harCalliandra for rich soil, big harCalliandra for rich soil, big har vest vest vest vest vest
Calliandra producesgood stakes for beansand tomatoes.Calliandra flowers give forage for bees.In two years you can get20 tons of firewood fromone hectare of Calliandra.Calliandra leaves are richin protein and are excellent fodder for cattle. You canalso dig them into the soilas manure.In Kabale scientists found that 100m hedge of calliandra can hold back80 tonnes of top soil!
Cassia forKaramoja: treesfor fuel, shade
Cassia came to Uganda at thetime of the Uganda railroad. It was grown as fuel for the steamtrains. Since then it has provedto be useful and safe for theenvironment.Cassia wood resists termitesand is good for charcoal, polesand furniture. The commonspecies in Uganda are
 Senna
Casia trees conserve soiland provide shade andmulch.
 siamea
and
 Senna spectabilis
.
Tree Talk 
is sending
 Senna siamea
seed to all schools andNGOs in Karamoja. Every school will receive about 390 seeds.
How to germinate
Soak the seed for two days incold water. Broadcast the seedsover the nursery bed. Coverthem with a thin layer of roughsand. Water until the seedbed ismoist. Then water everyday.Germination is between 6 and 18days.Transplant the small seedlingsinto pots before they developroot hairs, about three days aftergermination. Make a shade toprotect the young seedlings fromthe sun. Water daily. Removeshade after one month. Plant theseedlings after three months.Cassia is fast growing and takeslots of nutrients. So do not mix it with crops.It produces many new stemsafter cutting the original stem.If you are an NGO in Karamojaand would like to receive cassiaseed, write to
Tree Talk,
POBox 22366, Kampala.
I
n April 2004,
Tree Talk 
and theEU Forestry ResourcesManagement and ConservationProject held a three day trainingfor
Tree Talking
teachers from25 districts.The teachers were chosen fortheir interest in trees. They hadall grown many trees at theirschools. Sharif Kaahwa of Kihande Muslims PS, Masindi,said: "We planted 50 eucalyptusand 40 moringa around theschool and mosque."Didas Bazarirehi of Ndeego PS,Kabale, said: "We planted over100 eucalyptus and 20lusambya."The teachers learnt:• The importance of forests•Managing a nursery •Potting and seed collection•How to manage a woodlot•Sustainable tree planting"This training has changed my life and given me wealth for thefuture," said PD Sidonyi of Bishop’s East PS, Mukono.The teachers vowed to changethe environment of their schoolsand districts.In 2005 we will select 30 moregreat teachers for anothertraining on trees. Will you be oneof them? You can be! Startgrowing your trees now!New stands grow from the samestump year after year.
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liamoisun

prices for the following tree species: pines, glaveria, tick toner, mangoes, oranges, pawpaw, and jackfruits

reply02 / 24 / 2010
liamoisun

PRICES for trees seeds at namamve tree seed center

reply02 / 24 / 2010
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