Is mahogany a good timber tree to plant and how many years to harvest?

Mahogany is a hardwood valued for furniture and plywood. It is a long gestation crop, with usable timber harvest generally around 12 to 15 years for thinnings and 20 to 30 years for good girth logs, so plan it as a long term asset, not a quick earner. It grows reasonably in warm, well drained soils and suits south Indian conditions. Returns depend on log girth, straightness and the timber rate at sale time, so income is a wide range rather than a fixed figure. The good news compared to sandalwood or red sanders is that mahogany is an ordinary plantation timber without the same heavy felling restrictions, but always confirm your state transit pass rules for harvested timber before selling. Plant good quality seedlings, keep spacing around 10 to 12 feet, and intercrop in the early years for cash flow.