Journal of Arid Environments (1999) 43: 133–141 Article No. jare.1999.0543 Available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Growth and nutritional characteristics of four woody species under nursery conditions and growth after transplantation in semi-arid field conditions at Madurai, India Kailash Paliwal * & D. Kannan * Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625 021, India (Received 11 August 1998, accepted 25 May 1999) Morphological and nutritional characteristics of four multi-purpose trees, Cassia siamea, Adenanthera pavonina, Peltophorum pterocarpum and Albizia lebbeck were compared for 6 month old seedlings grown in open nursery conditions. Survival and subsequent growth of these four species at 2 years after transplanting at the Biomass Research Centre, Madurai, a semi-arid region in southern India, were studied. Among the four species, A. pavonina seedlings attained poor root collar diameter and allocated comparatively little biomass to root rather than to shoot components during transplantation. Seedlings of A. Pavonina had a higher shoot/root ratio than the seedlings of the other species in this study. The significant difference in shoot/root ratio has benefits for the survival of C. siamea, P. Pterocarpum and A. lebbeck nursery stocks on a drought prone site. C. siamea and P. petrocarpum seedlings had higher biomass produc- tion per unit nitrogen uptake and were found to be more efficient in utilizing nitrogen than A. Pavonina and A. lebbeck . C. siamea and P. petrocarpum seedlings had a lower nutrient demand during transplantation, established well and produced more biomass after transplantation to nutrient-poor field condi- tions. C. siamea and P. petrocarpum showed similar growth patterns and biomass production with greater nitrogen-use-efficiency. Therefore, these seedlings can be selected for intensive plantation programmes and for nutrient deficient semi-arid ecoclimatic conditions.  1999 Academic Press Keywords: multi-purpose trees; site-specific growth; nitrogen-use-efficiency; shoot/root ratio; transplantation performance Introduction Planting of multi-purpose tree species can contribute to the rehabilitation of degraded tropical lands by restoring productivity, ecosystem stability and biological diversity (Parrotta, 1993). Selection of appropriate species and preparation of planting stock is crucial for successful tree stand establishment. Successful establishment (i.e. survival and subsequent growth) of plantation trees in any planting site is dependent on the production of suitable seedlings in the nursery (Van den Driessche, 1980). Identification of seedling characteristics that are responsible for desirable performance after trans- plantation, and selection of suitable seedlings with specific characteristics for particular 0140}1963/99/100133#09 $30.00/0  1999 Academic Press