tj - I've been in the horticultural business for 30
years after graduating in Soil Science. Superthrive has been around longer
than I have. We always had people buying it at the nursery where I worked,
especially for indoor plants. It probably contains some rooting hormones
like B12 and growth hormones like Gibberillic Acid or Indole Buteric
Acid.
Saw this at one site:
David Liddle recently sent me an article from an
Australian aquaculture magazine where the author noticed the similarity between
the smell of SuperThrive and Vegemite (a yeast extract used as a spread or as a
soup base). He experimented with using Vegemite and found it really works in the
same way as SuperThrive. This information may be useful to those in Europe and
other countries where Vegemite is found everywhere and ST isn't.
Table 1 shows
the trend in rooting and the production of macroroots by the cuttings. All the
plants
A good link to read which says Superthrive has IBA
that were not
treated with IBA were all rooted at 30 days in contrast with the IBA-treated
cuttings
which were
mostly showing callused tips. At 50 days, a 100% rooting of the untreated
cuttings
were observed,
followed by 67% rooting of plants dipped in Superthrive solution. Lower percentage
rooting were
observed for the IBA-treated plants wherein the least number of rooted cuttings
of
13% was recorded
from the cuttings that received 200ppm concentration suggesting a
suppression
in root
initiation by three-folds. On the other hand, the mean number of macroroots
formed by
plants in each
treatment did not follow the same trend suggested in the rooting ability . The
most
number of
macroroots (14) were formed by cuttings that were subjected to the 50 ppm IBA
as
compared with
only 3.66 formed by those that were treated with 200 ppm IBA.
The longest
roots of 46.03mm were formed by the cuttings that were not dipped in IBA.
The
cuttings that
were treated with Superthrive and lower
concentrations of the hormone had a mean of
33.31 mm in
contrast with the shortest root of 7.33 mm which was formed by the
200ppm-treated
cutting (Figure
2 & Table 2). It should be noted that the figures in parenthesis (Table 1)
refer to
cuttings that
had callused tips with the most number suggested by cuttings that received 200
ppm
IBA. The trend
suggests that spraying with Superthrive in the
presence of higher IBA concentration
might have
increased the hormone dosage resulting to this condition. The role of hormones
in
promoting
rooting at low concentration and callus formation at high concentrations is
well
recognized.
Table 1.
Percentage rooting of A. thurifera shoot tips 50 days after
planting.
TREATMENT
PER
CENT
ROOTING
MEAN
NUMBER
OF
MACROROOTS
Control
100
6.11
Superthrive
67
(33)
8.21
50 ppm
IBA
56
(44)
14.16
100 ppm
IBA
33
(67)
4.11
200 ppm
IBA
13
(87)
3.66
The formation
of young shoots or increase in height by rooted cuttings were
recognizable
and measurable
even if the test materials were still in the rooting medium. Except for the
small
height increment
of 7.5 mm recorded for the 200 ppm-treated cuttings, higher figures were
obtained
from the
untreated cuttings (18.16) and those that were exposed to Superthrive (13.77) and lower
concentrations
of the hormone giving an average of 14.96. The mean height increment of all
the
treatments is
99.46 % better than the height attained by the 200 ppm-treated cuttings (Table
2).
Table 2.
Root length and height increment of rooted shoot cuttings
TREATMENT
ROOT
LENGTH
(mm)
HEIGHT
INCREMENT
(mm)
Control
46.03
18.16
Superthrive
32.00
13.77
50 ppm
IBA
28.33
16.66
100 PPM
IBA
26.90
11.25
200 ppm
IBA
7.33
7.5
The results
from this study are different from those earlier reported for the other species
of
Dipterocarps in
that in the earlier reports, induced rooting of cuttings were realized in tests
that
utilized higher
hormone concentrations ranging from 500 to 1000 ppm or even higher levels
of
rooting hormone.
The duration in rooting was also reported to be two months at the least
and
sometimes even
longer with varying propagation systems. The current report suggests a
more
economical way
of rooting a Dipterocarp species especially when the expense for the
imported
rooting hormone
and gadgets for the misting system are taken into account. It should also be
noted
that rooting
under the condition described was observed within a much shorter time of only 30
days
in spite of the
low hormone levels that were used. While the use of Superthrive spray may have
complicated the
results, the concentration that is necessary to attain healthy plants was very
low to
warrant a big
expense on induction of rooting. The action of Superthrive as foliar spray is not yet
illucidated
especially in this particular study. It is therefore recommended that a
detailed
investigation on
this be carried out. It is further suggested that clonal tests be conducted to
justify
the quality and
sources of the cuttings.
LITERATURE
CITED
DE GUZMAN, E.
D., R. M. UMALI and E. D. SOTALBO. 1986. Guide to Philippine
Flora and
Fauna. Natural
Resources
Management Center, Ministry of Natural Resources and UPLB. Vol. 3.
HALLE, F. and
H. RAMIL. 1981. Vegetative propagation of Dipterocarp by stem
cuttings
and air
layering. Malaysian Forester 44 (2-3): 314-318.
LEAKY, R.R.B,
J. WILSON, A..C. NEWTON , D.A. MASON, J.MCP. DICK, and A.D.
WATT. 1993. The
role of vegetative propagation, genetic, selection, mycorrhizas and
integrated
pest management
in the administration of tropical trees. In Proc. Of Intl. BIO-REFOR
Workshop.
Yogyakarta,
Indonesia. Pp. 31-36.
POLLISCO, M. T.
1994. Two alternative asexual propagation techniques for some
Dipterocarp
species. BIO-REFOR Proc. Of Kangar Workshop, Malaysia. P113.
SAKAI, C., Y.
YAMAMOTO, A. SBIAKTO, HENDROMONO and D. PRAMESWARI.
1994. Vegetative
propagation of Dipterocarpaceae. BIO-REFOR Proc. Kangar Workshop,
Malaysia.
P.147.
SRIVASTAVA,
P.B.L. and P. MANGIL. 1991. Vegetative proagation of some
Dipterocarps by
cuttings. Malaysian Forester 44 (2-3) 301-31.
ZABALA, N.Q.
1993. Mass vegetative propagation of Dipterocarp species. UNDP/FAO
Regional
Project on
Improved productivity of man-made forests through application of
technological
advances in
Tree Breeding and Propagation (RAS/91/004). pp. 4-5.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study was
funded jointly and partially by the Department of the Forest Biological
Sciences,
College of
Forestry, UPLB and the ERDS-DENR Region 9 through Forester Dante A. Oporto.
We
also acknowledge
the technical assistance of Ms. Romana M.. Umali, Ms. Marilyn O.
Quimado
and Dr. Ernesto
P. Militante also of FBS.
Figure 1.
Portion of the set up showing plastic sack globules used in incubating the
shoot
tip
cuttings.
Figure 2.
Effect of the different treatments on rooting of
A.
thurifera
.
VEGETATIVE
PROPAGATION AND CLONAL TESTING OF TWO
GMELINA
ARBOREA
ROXB.
PROVENANCES
Mercedes
Umali-Garcia, Larry M. Melegrito
1
and
Reynaldo E. de
la Cruz
2
1
College of
Forestry, University of the Philippines at Los Baños
College, Laguna
4031
2
Director,
Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology
ABSTRACT
Cuttings of
Gmelina shoot tips were collected from saplings of five seedlots from the
Sabah
provenance
planting of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), DENR
and
from marcotted
branches derived from a local provenance at Diadi, Nueva Vizcaya of
Northern
Luzon, processed
and used as the experimental units in determining the rooting ability of
the
explants in the
absence or presence of a 50 ppm or 100 ppm IBA. The cuttings were
maintained
under
intermittent sprays of mist from fine jet nozzles every after 45 minutes at a
duration of 5
minutes under
75% shade.
Under the
condition described, rooting was noted after 4 weeks. The number of rooted
cuttings
did not
statistically differ among treatments with percentages ranging from a low of
59.16 to a high
of 72.5%, the
highest percentage was obtained from the untreated control treatment.
Mean
macroroot
formation was observed to range from 2.0 to 3.3 with 2.0 being observed from
the
control
treatment and 3.0 from the hormone treated cuttings. Differences in macroroot
formation
was attributed
due to seedlot or provenance. Based on height and diameter growth increments
in
two months and
in the presence of 3.0 grams 14-14-14- kg/ha rate provided for each rooted
cuttings,
the clones from
the seedlots # 5 and 4 of the Sabah provenance and the Diadi provenance
exhibited
a mean height
increment of 95 cm. in contrast to the smallest height increment of 50 cm which
was
recorded from
the Sabah seedlot #2. No significant diameter increases were observed
among
provenances and
seedlots within the provenance. In two months time, the fertilized clones grew
by
18 to 20 cm in
contrast with only 3.26 cm attained by the unfertilized clones. The effect
of
provenance and
possibly the genotype of the test materials is demonstrated on rooting, survival
and
growth in the
nursery but the ;ong term performance of the clones remains to be evaluated
under
field
condition.
INTRODUCTION
Gmelina
arborea
is a fast
growing timber species that has been utilized for both agroforestry
and
reforestation
purposes all over the Asean region. It is drought and fire resistant. It takes
only three
years for the
tree to reach a merchantable height of 5-8 meters with a diameter of 10-15 cm if
grown
on good sites
under Philippine condition. It can produce up to 30
m
3
of timber per
hectare per year
in fertile
sites. Its wood provides myriad uses, from pulp production to manufacture of
toothpicks,
chopsticks,
popsicle sticks and matchsticks. In the Philippines its wood is the number one
material
used for sawn
timber and in the fabrication of cement board.
Gmelina is an
exotic species in the Philippines but its date of introduction to the country is
not
known more so
with the exact origin of its seed source.
Gmelina is
commonly propagated by seed
because there
are no problems met with its germination. However, the use of clonally
propagated
superior
phenotypes in industrial plantations can generate better economic
gains.
Tremendous
phenotypic variations have been noted in many plantations all over the
islands
ranging from
very straight bole to very branchy habit. Selection and propagation of
available
desirable
phenotypes should be advocated especially when future plantations are intended
for
timber
production. This study was conducted to determine the possibility of producing
clones from
stem cuttings
for use not only in the establishment of seed orchards and clonal orchards but
also for
large scale
clonal planting. We report on the rooting ability, survival and early growth of
Gmelina
shoot tip
cuttings under nursery condition.
MATERIALS AND
METHODS
The materials
that were used in this study consisted of shoot tip cuttings obtained from
saplings of
five seedlots of
Sabah provenance which were made available through the FAO/FORTIP
project
and from
marcoted branches derived from a local provenance Diadi, in Nueva Vizcaya. The
latter
provenance is
reportedly to be the source of most of the seeds used in establishing the
earlier
Gmelina
plantations in Luzon island. The marcots were derived from phenotypically
desirable
mature trees in
selected plantations or trials. Processing of the shoot tip cuttings involved:
1) a
pretreatment in
5% Benlate solution (Benomyl as active ingredient at 500g/kg) for 15 minutes,
2)
immediate
soaking of the cut ends in either distilled water (control), 50 ppm IBA, or 100
ppm IBA,
and 3) planting
of the treated cuttings into Hiko trays containing coconut coir dust. The
cuttings
were maintained
in the screencage with 75% shade and under intermittent mist sprays every
45
minutes in a 5
minute duration. The rooting experiment was terminated after 30 days.
Immediately
upon collection
of pertinent data, ten uniform rooted cuttings were taken from each seedlot of
the
Sabah provenance
and ten from Diadi provenance, each clone was given a single uniform dose of
3
grams 14-14-14
NPK fertilizer and grown for two months under screencage condition to
determine
their survival
and growth. Another experiment was conducted to determine the effect of
different
NPK combinations
on the early growth of the Diadi provenance under nursery
condition.
RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
The effects of
the treatments on the degree of rooting of the different provenances and
seedlots are
demonstrated in
table 1. in general, iba treatment did not significantly affect the degree of
rooting of
the cuttings
based on mean percentages. however, differences in rooting were expressed in
some of
the seedlots
such as in seedlot # 1 where 100% rooting was observed in the control treatment
while
seedlot # 3
produced 20% rooting under the control and 80% when in the presence of the
hormone.
on the other
hand, seedlot # 5 of the sabah provenance (fig. 1 & 2) and the local diadi
provenance
attained the
highest degree of rooting with 95-100% regardless of hormone treatment.
cuttings
from seedlot # 4
behaved in the same manner except that lower rooting percentage than those in
the
diadi and
seedlot # 5 of the sabah provenance was suggested. cuttings derived from seedlot
# 2 had
the least
ability to root with only 10-20% in all treatments. the effect of genotype on
rooting ability
is well
demonstrated in this parameter. in the case of macroroot production, no
significant effect
was detected but
the cuttings which were subjected to 100 ppm iba produced slightly
more
macroroots than
those in the control (table 2). however, the effect of genotype was once
more
suggested by the
behavior of the parameter wherein the least number of macroroots (0.93 and
1.00)
were synthesized
by sabah seedlots # 2 and 3, while the rest yielded an average number of
3.51.
aside from good
form, the rooting ability should be considered in the selection for desirable
parent
materials
intended for establishment of clonal orchard.
Table 1.
Interaction of seedlot/provenance and IBA concentration on
percentage
rooting of Gmelina shoot tip cuttings.
SEEDLOT
NUMBER
%
ROOTING
CONTROL
%
ROOTING
50 ppm
IBA
%
ROOTING
100 ppm
IBA
MEAN
%
ROOTING
SDLT #
1
100
20
40
53.33
SDLT #
2
40
20
20
26.66
SDLT #
3
20
80
80
60.00
SDLT #
4
80
80
40
66.67
SDLT #
5
100
100
80
93.33
DIADI
95
100
95
96.66
MEAN
72.50
66.66
59.16
66.10
Table 2. Mean
number of macroroots formed by the different Gmelina seedlots
SEEDLOT
NUMBER
CONTROL
50 ppm
IBA
100 ppm
IBA
SEEDLOT
MEAN
SDLT #
1
3.4
0.6
4.8
2.93
SDLT #
2
1.2
0.8
0.8
0.93
SDLT #
3
0.4
1.8
2.2
1.00
SDLT #
4
2.6
4.8
2.4
3.26
SDLT #
5
2.4
4.8
5.0
4.06
DIADI
2.0
4.6
4.8
3.80
MEAN
OF
TREATMENT
S
2.0
2.9
3.3
The effect of
genotype is also indicated in the fertilizer experiment conducted on the
Gmelina
clones (Table
3). Survival and height growth increment attained by the clones within two
months
especially
demonstrated that the least responsive to fertilizer input was seedlot # 2 of
the Sabah
with 20%
survival and a mean of 15.0 cm height increment and that the Diadi provenance
and
seedlots # 4,
#5, and # 3 of the Sabah provenance could be potential candidates for a
clonal
orchard. Figure
3 shows the general appearance of the 2-month old potted clones of the
Sabah
provenance. The
clones could be mistaken for real seedlings.
Table 3.
Survival and height growth of 2-month old Gmelina clones ( Sabah
and
Diadi
provenance).
PROVENANCE
SURVIVAL
(%)
HEIGHT
INCREMENT
(cm)
SDLT #
1
80
20.5
SDLT #
2
50
15.0
SDLT
#3
65
20.5
SDLT
#4
95
30.5
SDLT #
5
99.5
36.5
DIADI
99.5
33.5
The effect
of fertilizer application on the clones in the form of the different
NPK
combinations,
whether supplied as a slow release or ordinary fertilizer type was found to
be
necessary to
encourage faster growth. Statistically significant differences in height
and
diameter
increment are suggested in Table 4. The control clones yielded the shortest
plant
stature
showing an average increment of 3.26 cm and a diameter of 1.99 mm in contrast
with
a mean height
increment of 3-4 folds over the unfertilized control. The fertilizer type did
not
affect the
performance of the Diadi clones. The effect of the slow release and
conventional
forms of
inorganic fertilizer on the clones may not have been expressed due to
the
characteristic
short duration of the interaction between the test plants and the source of
the
elemental
combination. Especially the effect of the slow release form, longer exposure to
the
test plant
may be necessary.
Table 4. Mean
height and diameter increment of two month old rooted cuttings (Diadi
provenance)
as affected by
type of fertilizer or NPK combinations
TREATMENT/
Fertilizer Type/
NPK
Combination
HEIGHT*
(cm)
DIAMETER
*
(mm)
0-0-0
3.26
1.99
17-17-17
coated
19.86
(509)
3.24
(62.81)
20-10-20
coated
20.49
(528)
3.16
(58.80)
24-8-16
coated
18.62
(471)
3.45
(73.36)
14-14-14
uncoated
18.70
(476)
3.77
(89.44)
20-10-20
uncoated
20.12
(517)
3.94
(98.00)
24-8-16
uncoated
15.01
(360)
3.42
(71.85)
Figures in ( )
are increases relative to unfertilized (0-0-0)
treatment.
CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATION
Under the
experimental conditions described, the studies conducted demonstrated that it is
possible
to mass
propagate Gmelina even without using expensive rooting hormones and that in
order that
the clones can
grow and stay healthy, fertilizer application is necessary. The simple
experiments
also suggest the
influence of genotype on rooting ability and early growth performance. It
is
therefore
important that before any attempt to mass propagate the species
en masse
preliminary
screening on
rooting ability and consequent clonal tests should be conducted. The
environmental
consequence of
using inorganic nitrogen fertilizers has been well documented and recognized
that is
why there are
now slow release or coated fertilizers in the market. The fertilizers that were
used in
treatments 2 to
4 are multicote or slow release fertilizers, nevertheless the absence of
significant
differences on
the growth of the clones does not rule out its long term effect as the
growth
parameters were
only measured from two months interaction. No tissue analysis was conducted
and
therefore the
uptake of the elements by the test plants was not calculated. It is recommended
that
clonal testing
be conducted for a longer time under field condition not only to determine
growth rate
or fertilizer
responses but also for purposes of assessing growth habit of
clones.
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
This study was a
part of the project entitled " Tree Improvement and Breeding of Selected
Industrial
Plantation
Species" which was supported by the
UPLB-PCARRD-NRMP-GOP,
1994-1996.
We
acknowledged the
assistance of Mr. Rustico Manangkil and Ms. Romana M. Umali who were
both
laboratory
technicians under the senior author at that time.
REFERENCES
FLORIDO, L.V.
1978. Vegetative propagation by cuttings of Yemane (
Gmelina
arborea
Roxb.)
using hormones.
Phil. For. Res. Jour. 3(2):115-225.
ITAN, S., P.B.L.
SRIVASTABA and M. DORAISING. 1986. Trials on rooting of cuttings of
Gmelina
arborea
Roxb.: Effects
of source, hormone treatment, media and frequency of
misting.
Malaysian Forester 49(4):332.
TANG, K.S. and
P.B.L. SRIVASTABA. 1988. Trials on rooting of Gmelina arborea
Roxb.:
Effect of
source, hormone treatment and position. Malaysian Forester 48(3-4):
298-313.
Table 1 shows
the trend in rooting and the production of macroroots by the cuttings. All the
plants
that were not
treated with IBA were all rooted at 30 days in contrast with the IBA-treated
cuttings
which were
mostly showing callused tips. At 50 days, a 100% rooting of the untreated
cuttings
were observed,
followed by 67% rooting of plants dipped in Superthrive solution. Lower percentage
rooting were
observed for the IBA-treated plants wherein the least number of rooted cuttings
of
13% was recorded
from the cuttings that received 200ppm concentration suggesting a
suppression
in root
initiation by three-folds. On the other hand, the mean number of macroroots
formed by
plants in each
treatment did not follow the same trend suggested in the rooting ability . The
most
number of
macroroots (14) were formed by cuttings that were subjected to the 50 ppm IBA
as
compared with
only 3.66 formed by those that were treated with 200 ppm IBA.
The longest
roots of 46.03mm were formed by the cuttings that were not dipped in IBA.
The
cuttings that
were treated with Superthrive and lower
concentrations of the hormone had a mean of
33.31 mm in
contrast with the shortest root of 7.33 mm which was formed by the
200ppm-treated
cutting (Figure
2 & Table 2). It should be noted that the figures in parenthesis (Table 1)
refer to
cuttings that
had callused tips with the most number suggested by cuttings that received 200
ppm
IBA. The trend
suggests that spraying with Superthrive in the
presence of higher IBA concentration
might have
increased the hormone dosage resulting to this condition. The role of hormones
in
promoting
rooting at low concentration and callus formation at high concentrations is
well
recognized.
Table 1.
Percentage rooting of A. thurifera shoot tips 50 days after
planting.
TREATMENT
PER
CENT
ROOTING
MEAN
NUMBER
OF
MACROROOTS
Control
100
6.11
Superthrive
67
(33)
8.21
50 ppm
IBA
56
(44)
14.16
100 ppm
IBA
33
(67)
4.11
200 ppm
IBA
13
(87)
3.66
The formation
of young shoots or increase in height by rooted cuttings were
recognizable
and measurable
even if the test materials were still in the rooting medium. Except for the
small
height increment
of 7.5 mm recorded for the 200 ppm-treated cuttings, higher figures were
obtained
from the
untreated cuttings (18.16) and those that were exposed to Superthrive (13.77) and lower
concentrations
of the hormone giving an average of 14.96. The mean height increment of all
the
treatments is
99.46 % better than the height attained by the 200 ppm-treated cuttings (Table
2).
Table 2.
Root length and height increment of rooted shoot cuttings
TREATMENT
ROOT
LENGTH
(mm)
HEIGHT
INCREMENT
(mm)
Control
46.03
18.16
Superthrive
32.00
13.77
50 ppm
IBA
28.33
16.66
100 PPM
IBA
26.90
11.25
200 ppm
IBA
7.33
7.5
The results
from this study are different from those earlier reported for the other species
of
Dipterocarps in
that in the earlier reports, induced rooting of cuttings were realized in tests
that
utilized higher
hormone concentrations ranging from 500 to 1000 ppm or even higher levels
of
rooting hormone.
The duration in rooting was also reported to be two months at the least
and
sometimes even
longer with varying propagation systems. The current report suggests a
more
economical way
of rooting a Dipterocarp species especially when the expense for the
imported
rooting hormone
and gadgets for the misting system are taken into account. It should also be
noted
that rooting
under the condition described was observed within a much shorter time of only 30
days
in spite of the
low hormone levels that were used. While the use of Superthrive spray may have
complicated the
results, the concentration that is necessary to attain healthy plants was very
low to
warrant a big
expense on induction of rooting. The action of Superthrive as foliar spray is not yet
illucidated
especially in this particular study. It is therefore recommended that a
detailed
investigation on
this be carried out. It is further suggested that clonal tests be conducted to
justify
the quality and
sources of the cuttings.
LITERATURE
CITED
DE GUZMAN, E.
D., R. M. UMALI and E. D. SOTALBO. 1986. Guide to Philippine
Flora and
Fauna. Natural
Resources
Management Center, Ministry of Natural Resources and UPLB. Vol. 3.
HALLE, F. and
H. RAMIL. 1981. Vegetative propagation of Dipterocarp by stem
cuttings
and air
layering. Malaysian Forester 44 (2-3): 314-318.
LEAKY, R.R.B,
J. WILSON, A..C. NEWTON , D.A. MASON, J.MCP. DICK, and A.D.
WATT. 1993. The
role of vegetative propagation, genetic, selection, mycorrhizas and
integrated
pest management
in the administration of tropical trees. In Proc. Of Intl. BIO-REFOR
Workshop.
Yogyakarta,
Indonesia. Pp. 31-36.
POLLISCO, M. T.
1994. Two alternative asexual propagation techniques for some
Dipterocarp
species. BIO-REFOR Proc. Of Kangar Workshop, Malaysia. P113.
SAKAI, C., Y.
YAMAMOTO, A. SBIAKTO, HENDROMONO and D. PRAMESWARI.
1994. Vegetative
propagation of Dipterocarpaceae. BIO-REFOR Proc. Kangar Workshop,
Malaysia.
P.147.
SRIVASTAVA,
P.B.L. and P. MANGIL. 1991. Vegetative proagation of some
Dipterocarps by
cuttings. Malaysian Forester 44 (2-3) 301-31.
ZABALA, N.Q.
1993. Mass vegetative propagation of Dipterocarp species. UNDP/FAO
Regional
Project on
Improved productivity of man-made forests through application of
technological
advances in
Tree Breeding and Propagation (RAS/91/004). pp. 4-5.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study was
funded jointly and partially by the Department of the Forest Biological
Sciences,
College of
Forestry, UPLB and the ERDS-DENR Region 9 through Forester Dante A. Oporto.
We
also acknowledge
the technical assistance of Ms. Romana M.. Umali, Ms. Marilyn O.
Quimado
and Dr. Ernesto
P. Militante also of FBS.
Figure 1.
Portion of the set up showing plastic sack globules used in incubating the
shoot
tip
cuttings.
Figure 2.
Effect of the different treatments on rooting of
A.
thurifera
.
VEGETATIVE
PROPAGATION AND CLONAL TESTING OF TWO
GMELINA
ARBOREA
ROXB.
PROVENANCES
Mercedes
Umali-Garcia, Larry M. Melegrito
1
and
Reynaldo E. de
la Cruz
2
1
College of
Forestry, University of the Philippines at Los Baños
College, Laguna
4031
2
Director,
Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology
ABSTRACT
Cuttings of
Gmelina shoot tips were collected from saplings of five seedlots from the
Sabah
provenance
planting of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), DENR
and
from marcotted
branches derived from a local provenance at Diadi, Nueva Vizcaya of
Northern
Luzon, processed
and used as the experimental units in determining the rooting ability of
the
explants in the
absence or presence of a 50 ppm or 100 ppm IBA. The cuttings were
maintained
under
intermittent sprays of mist from fine jet nozzles every after 45 minutes at a
duration of 5
minutes under
75% shade.
Under the
condition described, rooting was noted after 4 weeks. The number of rooted
cuttings
did not
statistically differ among treatments with percentages ranging from a low of
59.16 to a high
of 72.5%, the
highest percentage was obtained from the untreated control treatment.
Mean
macroroot
formation was observed to range from 2.0 to 3.3 with 2.0 being observed from
the
control
treatment and 3.0 from the hormone treated cuttings. Differences in macroroot
formation
was attributed
due to seedlot or provenance. Based on height and diameter growth increments
in
two months and
in the presence of 3.0 grams 14-14-14- kg/ha rate provided for each rooted
cuttings,
the clones from
the seedlots # 5 and 4 of the Sabah provenance and the Diadi provenance
exhibited
a mean height
increment of 95 cm. in contrast to the smallest height increment of 50 cm which
was
recorded from
the Sabah seedlot #2. No significant diameter increases were observed
among
provenances and
seedlots within the provenance. In two months time, the fertilized clones grew
by
18 to 20 cm in
contrast with only 3.26 cm attained by the unfertilized clones. The effect
of
provenance and
possibly the genotype of the test materials is demonstrated on rooting, survival
and
growth in the
nursery but the ;ong term performance of the clones remains to be evaluated
under
field
condition.
INTRODUCTION
Gmelina
arborea
is a fast
growing timber species that has been utilized for both agroforestry
and
reforestation
purposes all over the Asean region. It is drought and fire resistant. It takes
only three
years for the
tree to reach a merchantable height of 5-8 meters with a diameter of 10-15 cm if
grown
on good sites
under Philippine condition. It can produce up to 30
m
3
of timber per
hectare per year
in fertile
sites. Its wood provides myriad uses, from pulp production to manufacture of
toothpicks,
chopsticks,
popsicle sticks and matchsticks. In the Philippines its wood is the number one
material
used for sawn
timber and in the fabrication of cement board.
Gmelina is an
exotic species in the Philippines but its date of introduction to the country is
not
known more so
with the exact origin of its seed source.
Gmelina is
commonly propagated by seed
because there
are no problems met with its germination. However, the use of clonally
propagated
superior
phenotypes in industrial plantations can generate better economic
gains.
Tremendous
phenotypic variations have been noted in many plantations all over the
islands
ranging from
very straight bole to very branchy habit. Selection and propagation of
available
desirable
phenotypes should be advocated especially when future plantations are intended
for
timber
production. This study was conducted to determine the possibility of producing
clones from
stem cuttings
for use not only in the establishment of seed orchards and clonal orchards but
also for
large scale
clonal planting. We report on the rooting ability, survival and early growth of
Gmelina
shoot tip
cuttings under nursery condition.
MATERIALS AND
METHODS
The materials
that were used in this study consisted of shoot tip cuttings obtained from
saplings of
five seedlots of
Sabah provenance which were made available through the FAO/FORTIP
project
and from
marcoted branches derived from a local provenance Diadi, in Nueva Vizcaya. The
latter
provenance is
reportedly to be the source of most of the seeds used in establishing the
earlier
Gmelina
plantations in Luzon island. The marcots were derived from phenotypically
desirable
mature trees in
selected plantations or trials. Processing of the shoot tip cuttings involved:
1) a
pretreatment in
5% Benlate solution (Benomyl as active ingredient at 500g/kg) for 15 minutes,
2)
immediate
soaking of the cut ends in either distilled water (control), 50 ppm IBA, or 100
ppm IBA,
and 3) planting
of the treated cuttings into Hiko trays containing coconut coir dust. The
cuttings
were maintained
in the screencage with 75% shade and under intermittent mist sprays every
45
minutes in a 5
minute duration. The rooting experiment was terminated after 30 days.
Immediately
upon collection
of pertinent data, ten uniform rooted cuttings were taken from each seedlot of
the
Sabah provenance
and ten from Diadi provenance, each clone was given a single uniform dose of
3
grams 14-14-14
NPK fertilizer and grown for two months under screencage condition to
determine
their survival
and growth. Another experiment was conducted to determine the effect of
different
NPK combinations
on the early growth of the Diadi provenance under nursery
condition.
RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
The effects of
the treatments on the degree of rooting of the different provenances and
seedlots are
demonstrated in
table 1. in general, iba treatment did not significantly affect the degree of
rooting of
the cuttings
based on mean percentages. however, differences in rooting were expressed in
some of
the seedlots
such as in seedlot # 1 where 100% rooting was observed in the control treatment
while
seedlot # 3
produced 20% rooting under the control and 80% when in the presence of the
hormone.
on the other
hand, seedlot # 5 of the sabah provenance (fig. 1 & 2) and the local diadi
provenance
attained the
highest degree of rooting with 95-100% regardless of hormone treatment.
cuttings
from seedlot # 4
behaved in the same manner except that lower rooting percentage than those in
the
diadi and
seedlot # 5 of the sabah provenance was suggested. cuttings derived from seedlot
# 2 had
the least
ability to root with only 10-20% in all treatments. the effect of genotype on
rooting ability
is well
demonstrated in this parameter. in the case of macroroot production, no
significant effect
was detected but
the cuttings which were subjected to 100 ppm iba produced slightly
more
macroroots than
those in the control (table 2). however, the effect of genotype was once
more
suggested by the
behavior of the parameter wherein the least number of macroroots (0.93 and
1.00)
were synthesized
by sabah seedlots # 2 and 3, while the rest yielded an average number of
3.51.
aside from good
form, the rooting ability should be considered in the selection for desirable
parent
materials
intended for establishment of clonal orchard.
Table 1.
Interaction of seedlot/provenance and IBA concentration on
percentage
rooting of Gmelina shoot tip cuttings.
SEEDLOT
NUMBER
%
ROOTING
CONTROL
%
ROOTING
50 ppm
IBA
%
ROOTING
100 ppm
IBA
MEAN
%
ROOTING
SDLT #
1
100
20
40
53.33
SDLT #
2
40
20
20
26.66
SDLT #
3
20
80
80
60.00
SDLT #
4
80
80
40
66.67
SDLT #
5
100
100
80
93.33
DIADI
95
100
95
96.66
MEAN
72.50
66.66
59.16
66.10
Table 2. Mean
number of macroroots formed by the different Gmelina seedlots
SEEDLOT
NUMBER
CONTROL
50 ppm
IBA
100 ppm
IBA
SEEDLOT
MEAN
SDLT #
1
3.4
0.6
4.8
2.93
SDLT #
2
1.2
0.8
0.8
0.93
SDLT #
3
0.4
1.8
2.2
1.00
SDLT #
4
2.6
4.8
2.4
3.26
SDLT #
5
2.4
4.8
5.0
4.06
DIADI
2.0
4.6
4.8
3.80
MEAN
OF
TREATMENT
S
2.0
2.9
3.3
The effect of
genotype is also indicated in the fertilizer experiment conducted on the
Gmelina
clones (Table
3). Survival and height growth increment attained by the clones within two
months
especially
demonstrated that the least responsive to fertilizer input was seedlot # 2 of
the Sabah
with 20%
survival and a mean of 15.0 cm height increment and that the Diadi provenance
and
seedlots # 4,
#5, and # 3 of the Sabah provenance could be potential candidates for a
clonal
orchard. Figure
3 shows the general appearance of the 2-month old potted clones of the
Sabah
provenance. The
clones could be mistaken for real seedlings.
Table 3.
Survival and height growth of 2-month old Gmelina clones ( Sabah
and
Diadi
provenance).
PROVENANCE
SURVIVAL
(%)
HEIGHT
INCREMENT
(cm)
SDLT #
1
80
20.5
SDLT #
2
50
15.0
SDLT
#3
65
20.5
SDLT
#4
95
30.5
SDLT #
5
99.5
36.5
DIADI
99.5
33.5
The effect
of fertilizer application on the clones in the form of the different
NPK
combinations,
whether supplied as a slow release or ordinary fertilizer type was found to
be
necessary to
encourage faster growth. Statistically significant differences in height
and
diameter
increment are suggested in Table 4. The control clones yielded the shortest
plant
stature
showing an average increment of 3.26 cm and a diameter of 1.99 mm in contrast
with
a mean height
increment of 3-4 folds over the unfertilized control. The fertilizer type did
not
affect the
performance of the Diadi clones. The effect of the slow release and
conventional
forms of
inorganic fertilizer on the clones may not have been expressed due to
the
characteristic
short duration of the interaction between the test plants and the source of
the
elemental
combination. Especially the effect of the slow release form, longer exposure to
the
test plant
may be necessary.
Table 4. Mean
height and diameter increment of two month old rooted cuttings (Diadi
provenance)
as affected by
type of fertilizer or NPK combinations
TREATMENT/
Fertilizer Type/
NPK
Combination
HEIGHT*
(cm)
DIAMETER
*
(mm)
0-0-0
3.26
1.99
17-17-17
coated
19.86
(509)
3.24
(62.81)
20-10-20
coated
20.49
(528)
3.16
(58.80)
24-8-16
coated
18.62
(471)
3.45
(73.36)
14-14-14
uncoated
18.70
(476)
3.77
(89.44)
20-10-20
uncoated
20.12
(517)
3.94
(98.00)
24-8-16
uncoated
15.01
(360)
3.42
(71.85)
Figures in ( )
are increases relative to unfertilized (0-0-0)
treatment.
CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATION
Under the
experimental conditions described, the studies conducted demonstrated that it is
possible
to mass
propagate Gmelina even without using expensive rooting hormones and that in
order that
the clones can
grow and stay healthy, fertilizer application is necessary. The simple
experiments
also suggest the
influence of genotype on rooting ability and early growth performance. It
is
therefore
important that before any attempt to mass propagate the species
en masse
preliminary
screening on
rooting ability and consequent clonal tests should be conducted. The
environmental
consequence of
using inorganic nitrogen fertilizers has been well documented and recognized
that is
why there are
now slow release or coated fertilizers in the market. The fertilizers that were
used in
treatments 2 to
4 are multicote or slow release fertilizers, nevertheless the absence of
significant
differences on
the growth of the clones does not rule out its long term effect as the
growth
parameters were
only measured from two months interaction. No tissue analysis was conducted
and
therefore the
uptake of the elements by the test plants was not calculated. It is recommended
that
clonal testing
be conducted for a longer time under field condition not only to determine
growth rate
or fertilizer
responses but also for purposes of assessing growth habit of
clones.
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
This study was a
part of the project entitled " Tree Improvement and Breeding of Selected
Industrial
Plantation
Species" which was supported by the
UPLB-PCARRD-NRMP-GOP,
1994-1996.
We
acknowledged the
assistance of Mr. Rustico Manangkil and Ms. Romana M. Umali who were
both
laboratory
technicians under the senior author at that time.
REFERENCES
FLORIDO, L.V.
1978. Vegetative propagation by cuttings of Yemane (
Gmelina
arborea
Roxb.)
using hormones.
Phil. For. Res. Jour. 3(2):115-225.
ITAN, S., P.B.L.
SRIVASTABA and M. DORAISING. 1986. Trials on rooting of cuttings of
Gmelina
arborea
Roxb.: Effects
of source, hormone treatment, media and frequency of
misting.
Malaysian Forester 49(4):332.
TANG, K.S. and
P.B.L. SRIVASTABA. 1988. Trials on rooting of Gmelina arborea
Roxb.:
David A. Loring, Project Leader Southeast Asia Project Dietrick
Institute for Applied Insect Ecology dloring3@cox.net ph (760)
489-9438
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2003 6:31
AM
Subject: [compost_tea] Re:
SuperThrive?
Can anyone provide anything more than Dr. Thompsons
advetising as evidence of the effectiveness of
ST?
Thanks,
tj
--- In compost_tea@yahoogroups.com,
"elprune" <elprune@y...>
wrote: > It reportedly contains the plant growth hormone Triacontanol
which > can be extracted from Alfalfa meal. > > Had any
experience brewing Alfala? > > > --- In
compost_tea@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff Lowenfels" <jeff@g...> >
wrote: > > Last year I tried superthrive to grow fungi. It wasn't as
good as > oatmeal. I have never tried it in teas. One of the
problems is > knowing what is in it....again, it looks and smells an
awful lot like > unfermented soy. > > > >
Cheers, > > > > Jeff
To
unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to: compost_tea-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your
use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor |
![]() |
![]() |
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
compost_tea-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
|