Study on the pattern of vegetative growth in young dioecious trees of Idesia polycarpa maxim

Sohel Rana,Zhen Liu

doi:10.1007/s00468-020-02013-7

Abstract

Key messageThe dioeciousIdesia polycarpaall that males and females do not invest in the same way in growth and branching in quantity, type of axes and in time (annual growth and sequence of these events over time).The annual growth of plants is an important indicator for growth and development, especially for younger trees. The aim of this study was to decide the physiological basis for vegetative growth effects on the trunk and crown development in Idesia polycarpa by assessing the effects on variations in bud growth, leaf, and canopy size. This study focused on the annual vegetative growth of young (3-year old) female and male I. polycarpa Maxim trees and their functions are separate. The phenology provides a challenge in the production of resources (seed, oil) and to investigate the effect of sexual specialization. Here we describe the variations between two sexes in terms of vegetative growth in our field studies. The study began in the sprouting season with observations of the gradual growth of the newly sprouting buds. The length of expansion, diameter growth, and leaf production from the terminal bud (TB), lateral terminal bud (LTB) of the first tier of branches (1Y), second tier of branches (2Y), and third tier of branches (3Y) of the trees were measured. The results showed growth differences between female and male groups in the growing year. The length of shoot expansion, diameter, and leaf production were higher for female trees than for male trees. Male trees grew more long and short branches (SB) than the female trees, with large numbers of short branches on the 1Y and 2Y of the male trees. Further investigation needed to analyze factors of annual fluctuation of the shoot expansion of the tree, with more studies investigating complex branching phenomenon, flowering, and fruit production in I. polycarpa Maxim.

Highlights

The tree known as “Chinese Wonder Tree” for its multipurpose use, has economic and ecological value
The mean growth of trunk length of female trees was higher than male trees from the 1GUTL, 2GUTL, and 3GUTL but in the 4GUTL the male trees achieved a higher mean trunk length than female trees, when the whole trunk length compared between females and male sexes and significant not exhibited (P = 0.701), as result showed (Fig. 2)
The expansion of the length, and diameter of terminal bud (TB), lateral terminal bud (LTB), and leaf production of the current growing year, the trunk length of the preceding years was higher than males

Summary

Introduction

The tree known as “Chinese Wonder Tree” for its multipurpose use, has economic and ecological value. The fruit has a high oil content, confirmed to be edible, and has the potency to be useful in preparation of biodiesel (Jia et al 2014). The dioecious plants provide an excellent opportunity on the production of resources (seed, oil) and examining the differences between male and female plants throughout the growing year, vegetative growth and in their effect on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in plants. The vegetative growth of the tree within-sex competition has been associated with reductions in growth rates (Zhang et al 2009a, b). Knowledge of the relationship between tree height and diameter is useful in a number of contexts, including stand biomass estimation (Huang et al 1992), and theoretical considerations of tree growth (King 1990)

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