Effects of intrapopulation competition on morphological and agronomic characters of Jute plant (Corchorus olitorius L.)

Abstract

The effects of population density on some agronomic traits of Corchorus olitoriuswere investigated by growing the seedlings in a field experiment at densities of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 plants per m2 during the raining season of 2006, at the Ojo campus of Lagos State University (LASU), Nigeria. The randomized block design (RBD) was the experimental design used, with three replicates. The direct effect of competition was investigated on the following agronomic attributes; final height/plant, number of branches/plant, stem girth/plant, number of leaves/plant, total fresh weight, total dry weight, moisture content, total leaf length, leaf petiole length, leaf area, blade length and blade width. A highly significant effect (p < 0.01) of competition was observed for final plant height and total moisture content/ plant, while significant effect (p < 0.05) was observed for other attributes investigated, except for all leaf parameters where insignificant effect of competition was observed. There was a gradual decline in all attributes except height/plant as population density increased. These observations confirmed the occurrence of intraspecific competition in population of jute plant. Key words: Intrapopulation, competition, jute plant, morphological and population density.