Abstract
Hibiscus cannabinus L. or Kenaf is one of the most potential annual crop planted throughout the world. Being fastgrowing and multipurpose, it has been utilized as a substitute of jute and, more recently, as raw product for the productionof pulp and paper. With strong and long fiber yield, mass production of Kenaf throughout Malaysia is critical. Theutilization of less fertile soils such as BRIS soils is important to increase the Kenaf production throughout Malaysia. Thus,the objective of this study was to determine the effects of different level fertilizer application on growth and physiology ofKenaf planted on BRIS soils. V36 variety was used and planted in three different plots by treatments with fertilizersnamely high (1960 kg/ plot), medium (1260 kg/ plot) and low (700 kg/ plot) respectively. Each plot comprises 106,000trees where trees were planted on 20 lines. There were contrasting results on the effects of fertilizer on growth andphysiology of Kenaf in the dry (41 days) and wet season (64 days). Significant effects were only observed for diameter,height, leaf number and area during the wet season. Similar results were also found for biomass. The increasing trendswith increasing the rates of fertilizer were observed in the wet season for growth and biomass parameters. The correlationanalyses between total aboveground biomass with diameter and height were more pronounced in the wet season. AGR,RGR and EG calculated from the differences between the dry and wet season readings for aboveground biomass showedthat the higher rate of fertilizer recorded the higher values of AGR and RGR. However, no trend was observed for EG.
Highlights
Hibiscus cannabinus L. or normally known as Kenaf is one of the most potential annual crop planted throughout the world
The information on growth and physiology of Kenaf planted on Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales (BRIS) soils is almost non-existence and scarce
The values of both parameters increased with increasing the level of fertilizer but no increasing patterns were found in the dry season (Table 2)
Summary
Hibiscus cannabinus L. or normally known as Kenaf is one of the most potential annual crop planted throughout the world. It is a member of the hibiscus family (Malvaceae) and indigenous to Africa. The plant has been utilized in the cordage and sacking manufacture as a substitute of jute and, more recently, as raw product for the production of paper pulp. Stems of Kenaf plants consist of an inner thick core of short woody fibres 0.5 to l mm long, and of an external bark with fibres of 3 to 4 mm long. The bast fibres are of better quality than the core fibres; both, can be utilized in various blends for the production of pulp (Petrini et al, 1994)
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