Influences of inorganic and organic fertilizers to morphological quality attributes of Shorea macrophylla seedlings in a tropical nursery

Abstract

Abstract. Perumal M, Wasli ME, Ho SY. 2019. Influences of inorganic and organic fertilizers to morphological quality attributes of Shorea macrophylla seedlings in a tropical nursery. Biodiversitas 20: 2110-2118. Better understanding and implementation of nursery cultural regimes to improve seedling quality with high survival capability and optimal growth potential are one of the pivotal aspects of a successful forest restoration program. An experiment was set to determine the influences of inorganic and organic fertilizers on the morphological quality attributes of Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P.S. Ashton seedlings. For seedling production, the pots were filled with a 1:1 mixture of topsoil and sand (v:v), following the standard forest nursery practice. Either a chemical fertilizer (CF, N: P: K = 10: 26: 10) or a blend of 360-day (80% elution of the ingredients at 25°C) controlled-instant release fertilizer (CIRF, N: P: K = 10: 26: 10) or a jellyfish fertilizer (JF, N: P: K = 13.1: 1.7: 0.03) was applied at the rate of 5 g per pot. The findings revealed that the morphological quality attributes of S. macrophylla seedlings treated with JF were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the seedlings treated with CF and CIRF at the end of nursery growing season. Notwithstanding, in terms of seedling quality indicators, seedlings from all the treatments were fit to the general expectations of a balanced root to shoot ratio values (RS < 2) and the seedlings raised in the nursery were of sub-optimal quality. Consequently, stock quality evaluation requires the integration of both morphological and physiological attributes of seedlings that provides a more effective appraisal of the fitness of seedlings to become established for field planting.

Outplanting Performance of the Bornean Tropical Indigenous Species Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P. S. Ashton in relation to Seedling Age

“…In this study, we found that the biomass allocation pattern in both of the younger and older S. macrophylla seedlings favoured the general requirements of a balanced and healthy root system (root-to-shoot dry mass ratio < 2.0 g/g) [21] and continued to sustain this pattern in the field (Figure 2). In general, these seedlings typically had higher growth potential and were able to withstand adverse conditions (periodic inundation) at the planting sites due to the adequate root system that did not hinder plant growth.…”

“…Seedling Production. For seedling production, seeds of S. macrophylla were collected randomly from three identified mother trees at Sampadi Forest Reserve, Lundu, Sarawak (N01°34′13″, E109°53′12″) (Figure 1), during a masting event, which began in late January-February 2015 [21]. Seedlings for three age groups (3-, 6-, and 9-month-old) were raised under the same conditions in the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) forest research nursery (N01°27′820″, E110°27′079″) located in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia, from February to November 2015 (Figure 1).…”

“…On February 7, 2015, visibly healthy (i.e., free of fungus, decay, and herbivore damage) and uniformly sized seeds (5.0-6.5 cm in length and 2.5-4.0 cm in diameter) were selected, dewinged, and sown directly into black, perforated, polyethylene bags (15.2 cm in diameter and 22.9 cm in depth) with several drainage holes at the bottom. e pots were filled with approximately 2.0 kg of a 1 : 1 mixture of topsoil and sand (v: v), following the standard forest nursery practice for dipterocarp species in Sarawak [21]. Five grams of chemical fertilizer (N : P : K � 10 : 26 : 10) per pot was applied as a top dressing of the polyethylene bags.…”

“…Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P. S. Ashton is an endemic riparian species in the Dipterocarpaceae family, Southeast Asia's most important family of tropical rainforest trees [17]. It is considered one of the best indigenous tree species in Sarawak for tropical forest restoration and reforestation programmes and was chosen on the basis of its socioeconomic and ecological importance [18][19][20][21]. Under natural conditions in suitable areas, this canopy species can reach heights of 50 m, diameters at breast height of 50-60 cm [22], and buttress heights of 2.0 m in the mixed dipterocarp forests of Sarawak and Brunei [23,24].…”

“…is lowland indigenous tree species is frequently found in wet habitats, such as rivers and periodically inundated areas, and is one of the fastest-growing species in the genus Shorea [19][20][21][26][27][28][29]. S. macrophylla flowers sporadically in periods of mass flowering [30] and produces recalcitrant seeds with maximum viability of 1 month after collection [31].…”