The influence of planting orientation and ecotype on sprouting and survival of stem cuttings of African teak (Milicia excelsa (Welw.) in Kenya

Abstract

African teak (Milicia excelsa (Welw.) is a giant deciduous forest tree which belongs to the Moraceae family and is now threatened by extinction due to over exploitation. This study determines the influence of planting orientation and ecotype on sprouting and survival of cuttings of African teak. The cuttings were collected from the Coastal and Western regions of Kenya. A Randomized Complete Block Design was used. The cuttings were planted in three positions (horizontal, vertical, and slanting angle) in the nursery containers covered with the polyethene sheet and the planting medium was composed of river sand. Data were collected monthly on the number and height of sprouts while the cutting survival was done at the end of the experiment which was five months). Data were subjected to analysis of variance using GENSTAT 15th Edition while separation of means was performed using the Standard Error of Difference (SED). The results showed that planting orientation was significant on the sprouting of cuttings df=2, F=117.93, p-value=0.001 as well as the survival of cuttings at the end of the experiment, the cuttings which were planted vertically and slanting were higher compared with those planted in horizontal orientation. The ecotypes had a significant effect on the number of sprouts obtained by stem cuttings df=1, F=6.99, p-value=0.012 and the cuttings from the Western region were performed better than those from Coast. It was concluded that vertical or slanting orientations and Western ecotype should be considered before planting this species.