The effects of several planting media on the red jabon (Anthocephalus macrophyllus (Roxb.) Havil) growth

Abstract

Forest plantation establishment covers not only in the areas with optimum conditions but also in the marginal land areas. The selection of appropriate tree species is required when the plantation will be established in the marginal areas. This study aimed to determine the effects of several planting media, which is similar to the condition of the marginal/extreme conditions, on the growth of red jabon seedlings. The trials were conducted in a factorial complete randomized design with two tested factors, i.e., planting media (M) and watering conditions (P), in which each factor has three levels. The first factor consists of topsoil medium (M1) as control, subsoil ultisol + topsoil medium (M2), and sandy soil + topsoil medium (M3); while the second factor consists of: watered with tap water (P1), watered with salted-water (P2), and waterlogged condition (P3). The best growth response was shown by the red jabon seedlings, which were planted in the subsoil ultisol + topsoil with a waterlogged condition (M2P3). The growth response of red jabon seedlings in the M2 treatment was similar (2.35 cm height, 0.26 mm diameter) and was not significantly different from the control (2.36 cm height, 0.26 mm diameter). The waterlogged condition (2.6 cm height, 0.28 mm diameter) also resulted in similar growth response to the control treatment (2.39 cm height, 0.29 mm diameter). The sandy soils and salted-watering conditions showed inferior growth responses compare to the other treatments. Thus, the seedlings showed its preference both to the fertile topsoil and subsoil ultisol media with adequate to high moisture levels rather than sandy medium with salted-watering conditions.