A large deciduous tree, seldom quiet leafless, bark dark brown smooth or with a few longitudinal cracks. Leaves are generally 10-30 by 5-18 cm., ovate oblong, acuminate, tough, shinning when mature and having a base that is cordate or rounded. The tree is tall, commonly attaining a height of 8 to 10 feet and is capable of growing upto 14 feet.

Phenology

• Flowering: March - April
• Fruiting: May - June

Distribution
The tree is found everywhere in the state of Jharkhand and dominates the forest of the state with 55% of the total growing stock being that of Shorea robusta. It occurs both in Northern tropical dry and moist deciduous forests of the state. The districts where its dominance is seen are: Singbhum, Ranchi, Dumka, Palamau, Latehar, Chatra, Hazaribagh and Giridih.

Silviculture
The best sal forest of the state belong to the Moist peninsular valley sal sub type which occurs on down wash from crystalline rocks giving a deep loam soil which carries moderate shrub growth. The regeneration of sal is excellent. Whereas the dry peninsular sal subtype occurs on shallow soil derived usually from crystalline and metamorphic rocks wherever soil moisture conditions are unfavourable for the development of moist sal; even in areas of much higher rainfall. The regeneration here is fair but slow.
The species associated with sal are:
Moist peninsular valley sal sub type: Terminallia tomentosa, Terminallia bellerica, Terminallia arjuna, Adina cordifolia, Diospyros melanoxylon, Pterocarpus marsupium, Madhuca indica.
Dry peninsular sal subtype: Diospyros melanoxylon, Buchanania latifolia, Boswellia serrata, Apogeisous latifolia, Dillenia aurea, Lagerstormia parviflora

Utilisation
For ages Sal has been an outstanding timber tree in the entire Jharkhand State. During the last decade, however, the sal tree has found utilisation for almost all its parts (leaves, fruits, bark, gum and seed).

Sal seed
Sal seed yields approximately 12 – 15% of hard fat, which with proper refinement can be used as a substitute for cocoa butter in the manufacture of chocolate and confectionery products. It is also used in the manufacture of soap.
The seed is boiled in water and then eaten by the villagers.
Deoiled Sal cake contains about 30% of starch and 10% tanin. This sal meal is used as animal and poultry feed.
Resin
The resin is cooling but difficult to digest. Used as bitter and acrid Astringent for the bowels; purifies the blood; lessens prespiration and fever; good for wounds, ulcers, burns, pains, itching, fractures, useful in dysentry; good for vaginal discharges; detergent, digestive and aphrodisiac medicine and used for fumigation to purify houses.
Leaves and bark
The bark and leaves are oily, hot, bitter and acrid; anthelmintic, alexeric; cures ulcers and wounds, itch, leprosy, gnorrhoea; enriches the blood; stops prespiration; improves complexion; good for cough, diseases of vagina, earache & headache. Used for making cups and plates. The bark is used in the tanning of leather whereas the leaves along with bark are used for treating burn injuries.
Fruit
The fruit is sweet and cooling, aphrodisiac, astringent, cholagogue, tonic, causes ‘vatta’; useful in thirst, burning, tubercular ulcers and blood troubles.

Production Pattern
The crop is good after every three years. But according to a ‘study of Domestic and commercial use including marketing’ carried out by R.M Malik, T.P. Singh and V. Varalakshmi states that ‘ A unique feature of sal seed trade is that it has a cycle of seven years in which there is a good crop year, four medium crop years and two poor seed years.’

Collection Process
Collection Period: May – June
Sal seed is plucked from the tree and also sorted & collected from those which have fallen on the ground. The floor of the godown is covered with a sheet of polythene and the sal seeds are kept on it. The top of the sal seed is again covered with a polythene sheet. Insecticide gamaxin and citadine are also sprayed on the seeds.

Processing
The processing at primary collector level includes drying of the collected fruit in sunlight and then the upper part of the fruit is burnt. The seed is then taken out from the fruit by hitting it with a heavy stone and dried.

The processing done at the industry level includes oil extraction.
The process of oil extraction from the sal seed can be broken down to four basic steps

• Crushing
  The sal seeds are put inside the crusher and crushed to form powder.
• Expellering
  The crushed seed powder is put inside an expeller to get the oil cake. Some oil is extracted inside the expeller also and the remaining oil in the form of semi deoiled cake is sold. This is because small oil extracting units are not in a position to extract all the oil content from the sal seed.
• Extracting
  This is the stage where the oil is actually extracted from the oil cake. The oil cake is put inside the extractor and locked. The air inside the expeller is removed and a vacuum is created. The oil cake is then heated with the help of a steam jacket and simultaneously Hexamine petrol (which acts as a solvent for the extracted oil) is filled in the pipeline. So all the oil that gets extracted from the oil cake gets dissolved in the Hexamine petrol. Now this mixture of oil and Hexamine petrol is heated with steam coils. The boiling point of Hexamine petrol being between 60 - 70c vaporizes first and is passed through another pipe and condensed to be used again for extraction.
  The extracted oil is then stored in tanks through pipeline. On an average 12% of oil is obtained and 86% of deoiled cake is obtained and the rest 2% is incurred as loss.
  

Trading Centres
The sal seed is collected from the forest and sold locally. Main trading center for trading in the state of Jharkhand is Ranchi.

Traders
Since this product is nationalised so the major chunk of the sal seed produced in the state is being traded through the Jharkhand Forest Development Corporation.

• Keval Saw
  Thana Chowk, Latehar
• Shanker Prasad Gupta
  Near Lakka, Latehar
• Saundik Trader
  Kalyanpur, Nimdi, Chaibasa
• Naresh Ram Nishad
  Chota Nimdi, Chaibasa
• Sambhu Saw
  Near old Petrol Pump,
  Chatra.
• Pancham Saw
  Near old Petrol Pump,
  Chatra.
• Dwarka Prasad
  Panch Mandi Chowk, Hazaribagh.

Buyer list
H.O.:- Ranchi Solvent Plant,
DeshBandhu Lane, Upper Bazaar,
Ranchi. Jharkhand.
Plant: Ranchi Solvent Plant,
Namkum, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

H.O.:- Hanuman Minor oil Mills
9040 Dalan Towers,
211, Nariman Point,
Mumbai. M.H.
Plant: Plot No. 678 – 698 & 711, Puirla Industrial area,
Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Price Trend
The price variation in the buying of sal seed from the primary collector is shown in the table given below

Price Influencing Factors
Since sal seed is a nationalised product and as such there is zero competition and the Government fixes the prices. This can be clearly seen from the table given above.