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Root confinement and irrigation frequency affect growth of ‘Rough lemon’ (Citrus limon) seedlings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2005

George Ouma
George Ouma*
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Horticulture, Maseno University, PO Box 333, Maseno, Kenya
*
gouma@mail.com
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Abstract

Introduction. Root restriction occurs when seedlings are grown in increasingly small containers and it reduces plant growth in different ways. Therefore, the objectives of our study were to investigate the effects of varying container sizes and irrigation frequency on growth parameters of ‘Rough lemon’ (C. limon) plants Maseno, Kenya. Materials and methods. The treatments tested the effect of three container volumes (1.7 L, 2.7 L and 4.5 L) and three irrigation frequencies [every day (W1), every two days (W2) and every 3 days (W3)]. The design of the experiment was completely randomized with three replications. Growth parameters studied were plant height, canopy height, shoot and root weight, number of leaves and shoot to root ratio. Results and discussion. Increasing container volumes generally increased the height of plants, height of canopy, weight of whole plants and weight of roots, but it did not affect number of leaves, stem diameter or shoot to root ratio. Irrigation frequency increased number of leaves, height of plants, height of canopy, stem diameter and weight of shoots and roots, but this factor had no effect on weight of whole plants. These findings are explained by reduced root restriction in the largest container volumes. Conclusion. Increasing container volumes from 1.7 L to 4.5 L and irrigation frequency from every 3 days to every day increases plant growth as expressed in the various plant growth parameters.

Keywords

NigeriaCitrus limonplant propagationplant nurseriesplanting stockgrowthcontainer plantingirrigationNigériaCitrus limonmultiplication des plantespépinièreplantcroissanceplantation en containerirrigation

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Fruits , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , May 2005, pp. 195 - 202
Copyright
© CIRAD, EDP Sciences

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