Abstract
Competing land use pattern has necessitated planting of useful forest trees on marginal lands with varying water status. A study was conducted on the effect of watering regimes and water quantity on seedlings growth of P. nitida. Seedlings were raised from seeds, transplanted in polythene bags and subjected to watering at full capacity daily, once in 3 days, 5 days; 20 ml daily, 3 days, 5 days; 15 ml daily, 3 days, 5 days; 10 ml daily, 3 days, 5 days; and flooding. The growth traits assessed were plant height, collar diameter, number of leaves; shoot, root and leaf dry weights as well as leaf area. The effect of watering regime and water quantity were significant (P ? 0.05) on quantitative morphological parameters of seedlings. Total dry weight and root dry weight were lower in both water-stressed and waterlogging than well-watered conditions, but the lowest values were obtained under flooding. However, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area ratio (LAR) were higher in water-stressed conditions than well-watered conditions. Relative growth rate of seedlings is related more to the net assimilation rate values than LAR and SLA. Also, root/shoot ratio was highest under daily full capacity watering. Thus, daily watering at full capacity with water availability or 15-20 ml of water per seedling during scarcity is recommended for raising P. nitida seedlings.
Highlights
The changing weather conditions triggered by climatic change have elicited diverse reactions from plants and animals
3.5.9 Net Assimilation Rate (NAR) Seedlings watered daily with 15ml of water had the highest value of 0.0031 g/cm2/wk, those watered with 15 ml in 3 days had a value of 4.048 × 10-4 cm2/g while a negative value of -2.556 × 10-4 cm2/g was obtained in seedlings given 20 ml of water every 5days (Table 7)
Total biomass and root dry weights were lower in both water stressed and water logging conditions than well-watered conditions; but the lowest values were obtained under waterlogging
Summary
The changing weather conditions triggered by climatic change have elicited diverse reactions from plants and animals. Water is an important factor in the growth, development and productivity of plants. Hartmann et al (2005) reported that water stress due to drought is the most significant abiotic factor limiting plant growth and development. Plant species respond differently to water availability, different plant parts adapt differently to varying water stress conditions. Leaves of plants growing in water stressed environment are small both in number and size. Vol 3, No 2; 2014 akuammine, akuammicine, akuammigine and pseudoakuammigine (Meenzies et al, 1998) This useful species occurs only in the wild under no form of management but with a threat of extinction, as part of the domestication strategy ; this study was carried out to determine the water requirements at the nursery for its subsequent inclusion in agro ecosystem
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