Important Trees of Haiti

134 Him
ODH, and Agridyne, Inc. In 1984, neem was shipped to the Dominican Republic from
seed collected in Haiti and was planted at the lnstituto Superior de Agricultura,
Santiago, under the auspices of the National Energy Policy Commission (Knudson et
aI., 1988).
Neem performs best between sea level and 600 m elevation with annual rainfall
above 800 mm. Though the species has a reputation for being hardy, wood and fruit production
are marginal on the dry, stony sites that typically are invaded by such thorny
species as Acacia tortuosa. Neem is not as salt tolerant as Prosopis juliflora and failed
when planted on the salty, poorly-drained land (pH = 9.0) between Thomazeau and
Croix-des-Bouquets by ODH in 1981. It exhibits chlorosis when planted on calcareous
rock and shallow soils commonly found near the coast (Fig. 16.3). Once neem is established,
it has a tendency to become weedy and form pure stands, growing thickly under
its own shade and eliminating the natural regeneration of other species. Wild animals,
particularly birds and lizards, are fond of the yellow ripe seed and disperse the species
gradually away from the seed source. Goats, sheep, and cattle do not prefer neem as a
forage and tend to leave it alone except under severe drought pressure when other food
is not available. However, damage is generally extensive under open grazing conditions
because of trampling, breaking of the growing portion of the stem, and soil compaction.
Tree Characteristics: The oldest trees in Haiti, aged 26 years, are approximately 20 m
tall with stem diameters that range from 45-75 em. Open-grown, the tree is shortstemmed
with a heavily-branched, dense, and evergreen canopy that fruits abundantly.
Grown under denser conditions, the tree develops a straight, high-forking stem with
negligible fruit production. Fruiting of neem peaks twice during the year, in June and
November, with most of the seed available for harvest between May and July and from
October to December. Mature trees can yield between 30-50 kg of fresh fruit (Ahmed
Figure 16.2 White flowers ofA. indica.