THE EFFECTS OF WATERING RATES USING THE DRIP IRRIGATION METHOD ON THE ROOT MASS GROWTH OF BIRD’S NEST FERNS

Abstract

The increasing demands of gardeners have made peat moss a popular option as a planting material. However, the price of peat moss has increased recently. Therefore, alternative substances for use as a planting material need to be studied. The root of the bird’s nest fern offers a cheaper, easier to produce and more readily available source for a planting material than peat moss. The objective of this research was to increase root mass growth by using drip irrigation. With an experimental design using CRD, two-year old bird’s nest ferns with root mass sizes of 5 inches were watered by means of a drip irrigation method at rates of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1,000 ml every 3 days. The data measured were root mass height, root mass diameter, leaf length, leaf width and canopy width. The data were analyzed by ANOVA and the differences between the means of treatment were compared by DMRT. The research found that the ferns which received water at a rate of 800 ml produced a root mass height of 11.06 cm and a root mass diameter of 11.93 cm. They were significantly different (p<0.05). The ferns which received water at a rate of 200 ml produced a leaf length of 29.52cm and a leaf width of 9.55 cm. The amount of water causes fern growth to significantly different (p<0.01). The 800 ml rate of drip irrigation also produced the largest canopy width of 48.12 cm.