Variation in Growth Among 13 Prosopis (mesquite) Species

Abstract

Mesquite (Prosopis spp) is a nitrogen-fixing and drought-resistant leguminous tree which exists in many of the semi-arid regions of the world but little has been done to develop its potential for wood, nitrogen fixation or pod yield. We report field and greenhouse cultural practices for mesquite and the results of a field screening trial for biomass production of 32 accessions, representing North and South American and African germplasm. Non-destructive biomass estimates, derived from height and stem diameter measurements, had a 180-fold range; the preponderance of slow-growing accessions were from the rangelands of southwestern USA.Prosopis (mesquite) is an extremely diverse leguminous genus of 44 species of shrubs and trees of semi-arid regions, primarily in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico and southwestern United States. A native and an introduced species occur in west Africa, and two native and several introduced species occur in the Caucasus-Indian region. Forms are known that are useful for soil conservation and as sources of fodder, and the genus may be valuable for timber, fuel, nitrogen fixation and the accumulation of leaf litter (Felker, 1979).We have assembled 400 single tree selections (accessions) of 13 species of Prosopis. This paper reports the results of two studies on the growth of 39 of these accessions (Table 1) in respect of height and stem diameter, and describes the silvicultural procedures and methods of controlling weeds and insects. Methods of inoculation with Rhizobium will appear elsewhere (Felker and Clark, in press). Most of the material was supplied by Professor O. T. Solbrig of Harvard University, and was obtained during work on the International Biological Program (IBP) in North and South America. The North American mesquite supplied by Solbrig was collected by Simpson along an east-west transect from Texas to Arizona. Other accessions were supplied by the USDA Northern and the Desert Nursery, Riverside, California. METHODS Silvicultural proceduresSeeds were dissected from the pods with a utility knife and pruning shears, scarified by nicking them on the blunt end (opposite the radicle) and surface

Effects of Irrigation on Biomass Production of 32 Prosopis (Mesquite) Accessions

“…The soil type, origin of the germplasm, planting procedures, irrigation system, and experimental design were described in detail in an earlier publication (Felker et al, 1981a). Six entries, recorded as P. spp.…”

“…In the previous paper (Felker et al, 1981a) stem volume estimates were used to estimate total biomass, since stem volumes were reported to be the preferred variable for biomass estimation for use with linear regressions. However, the most recent work comparing basal diameter and fresh weight in mesquite (Felker et al, 1982a) indicates that log-log expressions yield closer correlations than linear regressions.…”

Analysis of the relationships between species of the genus Prosopis revealed by the use of molecular markers

“…Prosopis species are generally able to grow in poor or degraded soils [26] and some species exhibit a high degree of salt tolerance [14]. Prosopis species have long been utilised in areas where they occur naturally, predominantly in the desert regions of South Asia, and North and South America [16].…”

A comparison of pod production and insect ratings of 12 elite Prosopis alba clones in a 5-year semi-arid Argentine field trial

“…However in these Argentinean trials, a Pestalotiopsis spp (evidently of another species) defoliated P. alba. Similarly while Psyllid insects (Alphalaroida sp) caused very great damage to the California native P glandulosa var torreyana in a California field trial (Felker et al, 1981), P. alba from Santiago del Estero experienced very little damage. However in these Argentinean trials, psyllids were the major insect pest.…”