Plantations of Gmelina arborea in southern Mexico

PetroCam is a forest products company with land in Campeche, Mexico. It has established 1300 ha of Gmelina arborea (gmelina) on degraded pasturelands and is currently establishing 300 ha of plantations year−1 on an 8-year rotation. Seeds for the program come from a locally developed land race with origins from India. Trees are planted at 3 × 3 m spacing, are fertilized 15 days after establishment, and are pruned and thinned several times during the rotation. Average productivity using the current landrace material is approximately 25 m3 ha−1 year−1. The end product is high quality furniture for export. Genetic material from CAMCORE, North Carolina State University will greatly broaden the genetic base of this program in the future.