Annual tree growth can be as high as 10 or even 20 t/y on one
hectare in favourable circumstances.  (These figures were commonly quoted
two decades ago during the first vogue for 'energy farming'.)
        Can anyone cite a ref for the claim that eucalyptus forests can
produce nectar for brief periods at rates around that much per DAY?   One
figure of 17t/d.ha is alleged.  I find this extremely hard to believe,
especially in absence of _Apis mellifera_ to co-evolve with that fabulous
500-spp genus.
        Close relatives in the myrtle family include our Christmas tree two
specimens of which can give my bees 50kg honey in 10d  -  what ageing
hippies might almost call a rush -  but that doesn't imply 17t/d from 1ha.
Those trees could fit at most 10 per ha.
        Other members of the myrtle family of great potential and
significant actual yields here are the manuka (_Leptospermum scoparium_)
and its close relative the kanuka (_L. ericoides_ until someone moved it
into _Kunzia_ a decade ago).  We Kiwi beekeepers claim manuka honey is the
top wound dressing.
        I wonder therefore whether anyone has carriedout yield & quality
studies across the Myrtaceae.

R


-
Robt Mann
consultant ecologist
P O Box 28878   Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
                (9) 524 2949