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Seedling Response of Three Agroforestry Tree Species to Phosphorous Fertilizer Application in Bangladesh: Growth and Nodulation Capabilities

Mohammad Belal Uddin
Dep. of For and Env Sci., School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh

Sharif Ahmed Mukul
Dep. of For and Env Sci., School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh

Mohammed Abu Sayed Arfin Khan
Dep. of For and Env Sci., School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh

Mohammed Kamal Hossain
Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Triple Super Phosphate, TSP fertilizer, was applied @ 80 kg⋅ha^-1 as the source of phosphorous on six months old polybag seedlings of Albizia chinensis, Albizia saman and Pongamia pinnta in nursery beds in Bangladesh. The effects of P-fertilizer on seedling growth and nodulation were compared to that of seedlings grown in unfertilized soil or in control at different harvesting intervals. The study revealed that seedling growth was enhanced significantly with the application of P-fertilizer. The growth was found more pronounced in cases of A. saman and P. pinnata, whereas it was not noticeable and showed depressed growth in the case of A. chinensis. The study also suggests that nodulation in terms of nodule number and size was also increased significantly with P-fertilization except in case of P. pinnata, where higher harvesting intervals lowered the nodulation performance of that species

Keywords: Albizia chinensis; Albizia saman; Pongamia pinnta; Growth parameters; Nodulation performance; TSP fertilizer

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Farming System

Commodity: Agroforestry

Objectives:

Our study, therefore, aimed to understand the effects of P-fertilizer on the growth and nodulation capabilities of the seedlings of these three commonly used agroforestry tree species of the country.

Methodology:

Experiment environment: The entire experiment was performed in nursery condition in the polybag of 6// x 4// size. The climate of the area is tropical in general with mean monthly maximum temperature of 29.75°C and a monthly minimum of 21.14°C. The highest temperature usually occurs on May as 32.6°C and minimum in January as 14.1°C (Ahmed 1990). The area is subjected to an average annual rainfall of 2500−3000 mm which mostly takes place between June and September. The receptor species Six-month-old healthy seedlings of selected agroforestry species, i.e., A. chinensis, A. saman and P. pinnata, were used as receptor species for the experiment. Healthy and disease-free seedlings were collected from a recognized local nursery maintaining their phenotypical uniformity as far as possible. The control and treatments TSP fertilizer [Ca(H₂PO₄)2; containing 48% of P₂O₅] was applied as treatment at each polybag (@ 80 kg⋅ha^-1). No TSP fertilizer was used as the controls. Fertilizer was applied immediately after collection and arrangements of the seedlings in case of treatments. Polybags were filled with soil of similar composition containing garden soil and farmyard manure in a 3:1 proportion. The average pH of the soil was 5.5 with the texture of loam to sandy clay loam (Aryal et al. 1999). The following control (C) and treatments (T) were used: C20- Seedlings of unfertilized plants harvested after 20 days C40- Seedlings of unfertilized plants harvested after 40 days C60- Seedlings of unfertilized plants harvested after 60 days C80 - Seedlings of unfertilized plants harvested after 80 days T20- Seedlings of fertilized plants harvested after 20 days T40- Seedlings of fertilized plants harvested after 40 days T60- Seedlings of fertilized plants harvested after 60 days T80 - Seedlings of fertilized plants harvested after 80 days Experiment design and data recording There were altogether eight treatments (i.e., four controls and four treatments) with three replicates for each species. Twenty-four seedlings of each species were collected. In total there were 72 polybag seedlings arranged in four groups- 4 control and 4 treatments of each three receptor species. Groups of each species were arranged in such a manner so that plants can be harvested at every 20-day intervals up to 80 days with almost the entire root system in-tact. Collar diameter, root length, root diameter, shoot length, leaf number, nodule number and nodule size of corresponding seedlings were recorded at each 20-day interval after every harvesting. Care, maintenance and precautions The seedlings were kept under nursery shade to prevent strong sunlight and heavy rainfall. Proper care, maintenance and precaution were followed during the whole study period. During applying fertilizers care was taken thus they were not superficially applied on the top of the polybags. Watering was done every day morning and weeding was done every third day.

Source of Information: Journal of Forestry Research (2009) 20(1):45?48

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI 10.1007/s11676-009-0007-1

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The experiment clearly revealed that the application of P-fertilizer significantly enhanced the seedling growth of selected agroforestry tree species in nursery conditions which varied with different harvesting intervals. During the study, the overall growth rate of the selected agroforestry tree seedlings was increased in most cases. The growth was found more pronounced in A. chinensis, whereas it was not noticeable and showed depressed growth in case of P. pinnata. It therefore can be understood from the study that, with few exceptions, the growth parameters of the selected agroforestry tree seedlings are dependent on the application of P-fertilizer i.e., growth was more as P-fertilizer applied.

Knowledge Management: Journal