A field experiment was conducted at Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, Tamil Nadu, India to study the growth performance of gum yielding tree species with regional importance namely Butea monosperma (Bengal Kino), Acacia nilotica (Gum arabic), Acrocarpus fraxinifolius (Cedar gum), Pterocarpus marsupium (Kino gum), Azadirachta indica (Neem gum), Acacia senegal (Senegal gum), Anogeissus pendula (Indian gum) and Lannea coromandelica (Jhingan gum). The biometric attributes viz., height, basal diameter and diameter at breast height (DBH) were studied during initial, 3 MAP, 6 MAP and 9 MAP. Among the eight gum yielding trees, Acacia nilotica (Gum arabic) exhibited a maximum height of 7.01 m, basal diameter of 14.68 cm and DBH of 9.78 cm during 9 months after planting followed by Lannea coromandelica (Height of 6.16 m, basal diameter of 14.14 cm and DBH of 8.81 cm) and minimum in Anogeissus pendula (Height of 2.96 m, basal diameter of 3.75 cm and DBH of 2.37 cm). The drip technology boosted the gum productivity and overall production of tree crops in addition to betterment of soil and tree health especially in problem soils. Acacia nilotica and Lannea coromandelica were responded well to the drip irrigation system and it also plays a major in water as well as labour management.

Keyword: Acacia nilotica, Biometric attributes, Drip irrigation, Farm plantation, Gum yielding trees.