Growth Response of Anonang (Cordia dichotoma Forst) Using Different Soil Enhancers

Abstract

The three-month-old native species of Anonang (Cordia dichotoma Forst) were planted in potting bags in a nursery to determine its growth progress as influenced by different soil enhancers. The study was laid out in a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications per treatment. Each treatment had 16 plants having a total of 80 plants. Growth parameters used were percent survival, height, stem diameter, leaf number, leaf area, total fresh weight, and total plant biomass. Results and analyses revealed that among treatments, the most suited one was the decomposed rice hay, which obtained the highest survival rate (93.75%), tallest height (39.48 cm), biggest stem diameter (0.61 mm), highest number of leaves (14 counts), largest leaf area (46.62 cm2 ), and heaviest shoot (10.94 g), root (1.79 g) and total plant (12.73 g) biomass. Hence, it is recommended to establish tree nurseries for raising Anonang seedlings. Since the duration of the study was only six months, future work should focus on testing the survival of Anonang in the field with a prolonged time of at least one year to achieve more valuable results.