Abstract

Small Cardamom is a pseophytic cash crop grown on plantation scale under the shade of natural evergreen forests of Western Ghats of South India. The shade canopy provides suitable environment by maintaining humidity and evaporation at suitable level. Trees belonging to 32 families of Angiosperms constitute the major tree flora in the Cardamom hills of South India. It is desirable to maintain a mixed population of medium sized shade trees that facilitate shade regulation and to maintain more or less optimum conditions throughout the year. The main considerations while selecting shade trees are adaptability to climate, rate of growth and ease of establishment. The major shade trees that are suitable for the cardamom tracts of Kerala state of India are Artocarpus heterophyllus, Toona ciliata, Acrocarpus fraxinifolius, Dysoxylum malabaricum, Palagium ellipticum, Terminalia tomentosa, Terminalia paniculata, Pterocarpus marsupium, Canarium strictum, Vitex altissima, Hopea parviflora and Grewia tiliaefolia.

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