Sheesham Hardwood

Functional uses.
Timber: Dalbergia sissoo (sheesham) is one of the most useful timber sources of India. The heartwood is very hard and close grained with a specific gravity of 0.62-0.82. It seasons well and does not warp or split; it is extremely durable and is one of the timbers least susceptible to dry-wood termites in India. Wood offers resistance to sawing and cutting but is excellent for turnery, takes a good polish and finishes to a smooth surface. It is used for high quality furniture, cabinets, decorative veneer, marine and aircraft grade plywood, ornamental turnery, carving, engraving, tool handles and sporting goods. Its root wood is used for tobacco pipes. In village industry Dalbergia sissoo (sheesham) is popular for doors and windows.
Fodder: Young branches and foliage form an excellent fodder with dry matter content of 32.46%, crude protein 2.7-24.1%. The foliage has normally been used as an emergency feed when other fodder sources fail.
Apiculture: A useful source of honey but the flowers are only lightly attached to the flower branch and fall easily. The bees are therefore not able to take advantage of the large numbers of flowers. The honey produced is dark amber with a strong flavour.
Fuel: The species is fast growing, hence suitable for firewood. Sapwood and heartwood have calorific values of 4.9 and 5.2 kcal/g respectively.
Fibre: Sulphate pulp from wood is used in producing writing and printing paper.

Tree management.
A fast-growing species; growth rates of 3.7m in 1 year, 5m in 3 years, 11m in 5 years and 15m in 10 years have been recorded. Dalbergia sissoo (sheesham) plantations are established in block or strip plantations at 1.8 x 1.8m to 4 x 4m. Closer spacing is used for straight timber of good quality. When the canopy closes, at about 6 years, 30-40% of the stems are thinned to selectively remove suppressed, diseased and badly formed trees. Thinning is recommended every 10 years where the rotation is 30-60 years. There is evidence that the stumps begin to lose vigour after 2 or 3 rotations when managed as a coppice crop. It coppices vigorously up to about 20 years of age.