Impact of the Mineral Fertilization on the Germination and Growth of Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth by the Soilless Technique in Nursery

Résumé fourni par la source

The growing demand in wood energy requires mechanisms of production of the seedlings with a view to proceed reforestation to answer the needs of the populations. The study evaluates the germination and growth of Acacia auriculiformis seedlings in two types of substrates by the soilless technique. The seeds of A. auriculiformis species have been collected in Democratic Republic of Congo and sent at the Bateke Brazzaville Forest Plantations Society (SPF2B-nurseries God willing). They have been kepted cold for 20 days in a refrigerator at an temperature of about 5°C. A complete device of two substrates (substrate fertilized with NPK 11-7-6, and unfertilized substrate, i.e. 1152 seeds per substrate) has been set up at the Batéké Brazzaville Forest Plantations Society. For NPK fertilization, we have taken 1000 grams of NPK (i.e. a 1 liter cup soaked in a 10 liter watering can). Seeds have been sowned individually in each alveolus after treatment. The results reveal germination rates of 20.8% to 23.7%, respectively for the unfertilized substrate and the fertilized substrate. However, the mortality rates of 76.3% to 79.2% have been respectively recorded in the fertilized substrate and the unfertilized substrate. The Kolmogorov-Smirlov test demonstrated that there are significant differences (p-value = 0.86 and p-value = 0.200) on seed germination. As far as that goes, NPK 11-7-6 fertilization had a significant effect (p-value= 0.307) on seedlings growth. The effect of the fertilization on the mean number of phyllode demonstrated that the Shairo-Wilk test values are significant (p-value = 0.243 for the unfertilized substrate and p-value = 0.436 for the fertilized substrate). In so far as the industrial production of the seedlings of A. auriculiformis requires mineral fertilizer contribution in nursery, the study suggests large-scale reforestation of A. auriculiformis with seedlings from nurseries to ensure the sustainability of the plant considering of importance it plays with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.