Abstract
Abstract Bougainvillea spectabilis is an ornamental plant grown in both temperate and tropical zones. They are primarily propagated by stem cuttings; however, difficulty in growth at early stages occurs routinely, causing barrier for its mass propagation. This study was conducted to study the effects of integrating compost with Trichoderma longibrachiatum (NGJ167), in improving the early growth of Bougainvillea spectabilis. Trichoderma longibrachiatum (NGJ167) used for this purpose was obtained from the Bioscience Center, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. One hundred and twenty (120) pots were filled with 5 kg top soil each from an alfisol. Treatments included: Top soil as Control (C), Top soil inoculated with T. longibrachiatum (T), Top soil + compost at 5, 10 and 15 t ha-1 as C1, C2, C3 respectively, Top soil inoculated with T. longibrachiatum + compost at 5, 10 and 15 t ha-1 as C1T, C2T, C3T respectively. The eight treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) and replicated three times. Results indicated that integrated use of compost with Trichoderma significantly (p < 0.05) had higher growth values than the control. Higher plant height, stem diameter, number of branches and number of leaves, were recorded with the use of compost at 10 t ha-1 compared to control. Compost with Trichoderma gave higher shoot dry weight compared to treatments of compost alone. In conclusion, use of compost alone or inoculated with Trichoderma had significant effect on early growth and development of Bougainvillea spectabilis.
Highlights
Bougainvillea spectabilis of the genus Bougainvillea is a perennial shrub climber and an ornamental evergreen flower that grows in subtropical climate
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of compost and Trichoderma longibrachiatum (NGJ167) in improving early growth and development of Bougainvillea species
The experiment consisted of eight treatments which include the following: Top soil as control (C), Top soil inoculated with plant growth promoting fungus (T. longibrachiatum NGJ167) (T), Compost at 5, 10 and 15 tons ha-1 denoted as C1, C2, C3 respectively, and Top soil inoculated with T. longibrachiatum NGJ167 with compost at 5, 10 and 15 tons ha-1 denoted as C1T, C2T, C3T respectively
Summary
Bougainvillea spectabilis of the genus Bougainvillea is a perennial shrub climber and an ornamental evergreen flower that grows in subtropical climate. They have thorns that develop from the leaf base, their leaves are oval shaped, and flowers are small in size ranging from white, purple, pink, red and purplish colors with different varieties (Kobayashi et al, 2007). Bougainvillea is used as house plant, in the landscape. Gardeners mostly propagate bougainvillea from cuttings, by inserting a sizeable length into nutrient rich soil that is kept moist, it can be propagated by seeds (Singh et al, 2011). The difficulties experienced in its propagation, especially the variegated types, make its seedlings more expensive in Nigeria, the need for propagation studies with growth media and manure that can promote its early growth and development
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