| Tasmania Blackwood Uses And Management |
| About Tasmanian Blackwood |
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Some general pieces of information on Tasmanian Blackwood are:
- scientific name Acacia melanoxylan
- also known as Australian blackwood
- grows 15-35 m tall and up to 100 cm in diameter depending on site conditions
- high value timber
- dark, oak-like timber suitable for cabinet making
- viable choice for small woodlots
- require a 40 year rotation
- similar in shape and foliage to tawa
- used as a shelterbelt tree
- can be grown in amongst gorse or scrub
- well suited to soil conservation
- fast initial growth
- ability to sucker and coppice
- resistant to damage such as earth movement
- legume nitrogen fixer which will improve soil fertility
- has been used successfully employed to control gully and slip erosion in hilly country
When planting Tasmanian Blackwood, please consider the following:
- require more specific site conditions
- require shading
- more tolerant of wet site conditions than Radiata or Eucalyptus
- prefers moist (but not swampy) sites with a southerly aspect
- will tolerate dry sites (minimum of 650 mm annual rainfall)
- readily establishes from seedling stock
- seedlings should initially be planted at 900-1200 sph to perform well
- seedlings should be at least 25 cm high
- good control of competing plants is essential for the establishment of seedling trees eg spot spraying with a suitable herbicides such as 10 ml/l Glyphosphate (36 % a.i.) or 25 ml/l Terbuthylazine (50 % a.i.)
- nodules should be present on seedling roots indicating the presence of nitrogen-fixing rhizobium
- plants should be pruned to 200 sph once trees are established
- some fertilisation with 40-50 g/ha superphosphate (0-10-0-11) will help initial growth in seedlings
Points to consider when managing Tasmanian Blackwood:
- thin established trees down to 200-250 sph
- pruning can begin from the second year onwards or when the tree has reached 3 m
- no more than 50 % of the total tree height should be pruned
- Tasmanian blackwoods can be grown with other species but these should be eliminated by the time the tree is 6 m tall
- Tasmanian blackwoods is highly palatable to rabbits, hares, possums, and wallabies and pest control is required prior to planting and until plants are of sufficient size
- insects including wood borers, leaf miners and sap suckers can attack Tasmanian blackwoods. The sap sucker Psylla acaciae cause stunted or malformed growing tips reduce the timber quality
- intensive early pruning of tips and damage may help correct the damage
- Psyllids can be identified by the secretion of honey-dew which grows sooty mould and the larvae feeding in terminal leaf clusters
- Psyllids can be controlled by growing in amongst other plants such as gorse, scrub or a shelter species, as the insect is averse to shade
- use of an insecticide applied in advance of Psylla acaciae population peaks in December and April may be useful although this method is expensive and difficult as trees mature
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