Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla, big-leaf mahogany) can be grown in the humid, warm parts of India, but it is a 30-year timber investment, not a 12-year one, and no verified Indian price, yield or buy-back data was found for this guide. Plant it only if you can wait for decades, have deep well-drained soil and rain of about 1,600 mm or more, and have confirmed the felling and transport rules with your state forest department.

The World Agroforestry tree database gives a timber rotation of 30 to 35 years. Online claims of 12 to 15 years are not supported by that reference, and veneer or furniture grade logs need a thick, straight, borer-free trunk.

Where it grows in India

  • History: India introduced both Swietenia macrophylla and S. mahagoni in 1865 from Caribbean seed, and the species has been planted widely since. Indian studies exist from the West Bengal Terai (plantation litterfall work at Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya) and from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (a seed-source trial of 25 sources from three states).
  • Climate limits: the database gives 1,600 to 2,500 mm annual rainfall, 20 to 28 degrees C mean temperature and 0 to 1,500 m altitude. Regions with much less rain than this are outside the range, and no irrigated-plantation data was found for them.
  • Soil: best on well-drained, medium to heavy soils; native stands sit on deep fertile alluvium along rivers. Waterlogged or shallow soils are poor sites.

Key facts for planning

ItemReference valuePer acre equivalent
Standard plantation spacing10 x 3 m, about 333 stems per hectareabout 135 stems
Final stocking at timber harvest150 to 250 stems per hectareabout 61 to 101 stems
Rotation for timber30 to 35 yearssame
Rainfall1,600 to 2,500 mm a year (up to 4,000 mm tolerated)same
Mean annual temperature20 to 28 degrees C (limits 11 to 35)same
Altitude0 to 1,500 msame
Seedabout 2,400 dewinged seeds per kgsame

Mahogany needs full overhead light with side protection, so it is not planted dense. At 10 x 3 m the database says plantations rarely need thinning except to remove diseased stems, and the tree is self-pruning. The same source notes the tree can spread beyond plantations and should not be planted next to areas of high conservation value.

Planting material

  • Seed is the usual planting material: about 2,400 dewinged seeds per kg. Seed stays viable for about a year in sealed cool storage, so use fresh seed.
  • Seed source matters. The Indian Forester seed-source trial (Durai, 2020) found that germination, branching and abnormal seedlings differed significantly between sources, with Karnataka sources giving the highest germination and branched seedlings, and Kerala the fewest abnormal seedlings. Ask the nursery for the seed origin.
  • Grade seedlings by height before planting. A grading study (Patel, 2019) found the tallest grade, graded at 51 days, kept a clear lead after six months (shoot 50.5 cm, root 40.2 cm).
  • Pits, spacing and fertiliser doses for Indian farms were not found in a state agricultural university package, so none are given here. Ask the forest department nursery or your KVK.

Pests and diseases

  • Shoot borer (Hypsipyla): the most serious pest. The database calls it epidemic in some plantations, causing poor trunk form and severe loss of timber quality. The cedar tip moth Hypsipyla robusta occurs across Asia, including India, and attacks Swietenia along with toon and Chukrasia. A forked or crooked bole from repeated tip attack cannot be corrected later, and this is why mahogany logs often grade poorly.
  • A systemic insecticide (acephate, sold earlier as Orthene) is named in the database as effective against the borer. Check that it is registered for this use and follow the label and your KVK or forest department advice; no Indian spray schedule was found.
  • Older trees can suffer heart and butt rot entering through basal scars and branch stubs, so avoid wounding the trunk. Nursery diseases include damping off and leaf spots in humid conditions.

Growth, harvest and wood quality

  • Trees reach 30 to 40 m in height and 3 to 4 m girth in good conditions, and start fruiting regularly at about 15 years.
  • Plantation wood weighs 485 to 840 kg per cubic metre at 12% moisture and is somewhat lighter than natural-forest wood. It is used for panelling, joinery, furniture and plywood. The database notes that veneer quality is limited by colour variation, wavy grain, pin knots and pinhole borer damage.
  • No Indian growth-and-yield table (girth by age or timber volume per acre) was found, so a cubic-metre or per-tree yield is not given.

Cost and returns

  • No verified Indian price for plantation mahogany logs, and no costs of establishment, were found. Figures of lakhs per tree seen in promotions should not be trusted without a written buyer contract.
  • Arithmetic you can do yourself: at 135 trees per acre, each ₹1,000 of net value per tree at harvest is ₹1.35 lakh per acre, spread over 30 years (about ₹4,500 a year per acre before the cost of waiting). Ask a local sawmill or timber merchant what they pay for logs of the girth you expect, then multiply.
  • Income before harvest comes only from intercrops while the canopy is open. The database notes farmers elsewhere intercrop mahogany with maize, beans, banana and cassava, and that mahogany outcompetes teak in a mixed stand. Plan the intercrop for the first few years only.
💡 Tip: Before planting, write down the buyer and rule for the day of felling: who buys at what girth, and what permit the state needs. If neither can be answered today, the investment is a guess.

Market, law and risks

  • Felling and transit: rules for felling and moving trees grown on private land differ by state, and whether mahogany is exempted from permits was not verified for any state. Contact your Divisional Forest Officer in writing before planting.
  • CITES: S. macrophylla has been in CITES Appendix II since 2003, but a general reference states only Neotropical (South and Central American) populations are covered by the trade restrictions. Check the export rules with the forest department or DGFT if you plan to export timber.
  • Buy-back schemes: be careful with companies that sell mahogany saplings with a promised buy-back. Such promises are a common hype pattern for timber trees, and the promise is only as good as the buyer's finances. Verify registration and read the contract before paying.
  • Risks: a thirty-year horizon, shoot borer damage and uncertain local demand. The land is tied up for decades, and PMFBY covers notified field crops, not timber trees.
  • For shorter-cycle options see crop calendar and subsidy finder for agroforestry support. No verified MIDH or state subsidy rate for mahogany was found.

Sources