Coppicing as a tool for improved growth and yield of shrub and tree crops
Aged shrubs and trees usually have poor branching structure, a decline in yield and possess weak health status to the extent that they need replacement after some time. Starting afresh with seedlings creates a void in the farmer’s cultivation process, a significant decline in crop yield and a drop in income because it takes a long time for seedlings to establish, develop and become mature enough to yield the desired product(s). Some plants have a great ability to regrow after severe cutting. Coppicing makes such plants to renew their juvenile state; this extends the life of the plants by many years. Coppicing has been used in some plants to mitigate these types of aging problems. The objective of this paper is to identify the possibilities of shortening the time gap in reviving low yielding good old shrubs and trees as well as enhancing their performance through coppicing. Coppicing of the very tall trees will result in new plants that will be short and may even be harvested without the aid of a harvesting stick in the first few years. Seeing trees in appropriate locations, bearing plenty of fruits with exceptionally good qualities for eating and processing dying gradually because of old age is a loss; coppicing can bring such plants back to youthful vigor and apt productivity. Because the coppiced tree has an established root system, the new growth is particularly vigorous. Coppicing should be part of the useful tools in the management of plantation trees and shrubs for enhanced output.
The word ‘coppice’ is from the French word ‘couper’ which implies ‘to cut.’ It is trimming shrubs or trees in a way that encourages them to sprout back shoots from the stumps, roots, or suckers.
The shoots are left to grow for a certain number of years and then are cut, starting the entire cycle again (Spengler, 2018). Coppicing is built on the capacity of deciduous hardwood trees to produce fresh growth year after year from the old stump (Tonge, 1983). When a tree is cut down to its stump, a few years later it would grow several meters high once again. Some plants have a great ability to regrow after severe cutting (Roberts, 2017). The pruning method where trees and shrubs are cut to a ground-level resulting in the growth of new shoots is known as coppicing (Woodie, 2012).
Current practices of coppicing in the management of trees Coppicing is regularly carried out to generate renewable wood harvests. The tree is cut and shoots grow. The shoots are left to grow for a certain number of years and then are cut, starting the entire cycle again (Spengler, 2018). Archaeologists have discovered that coppicing has been in practice since the Neolithic times. Coppicing pruning was especially important before man had machinery for cutting large trees and transporting them. Coppicing trees made available an endless supply of logs of suitable size that could be handled easily.
Essentially, coppicing is a way of providing a sustainable harvest of tree shoots (Spengler, 2018). First, a tree is felled. The stool is formed when sprouts grow from dormant buds. The sprouts that arise are allowed to grow until they are of the correct size, and then are harvested and the stools allowed growing again.
Coppicing a tree results in multiple stems growing out of the main trunk-suitable for fencing, firewood, tool handles, and many additional woodland crafts (Briana, 2012).
Source : Coppicing as a tool for improved growth and yield of shrub and tree crops
