G1502

International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

ISSN (Online): 2349-2287, ISSN (Print): 2349-2279 Volume 2 Issue 3 July 2015

24 www.ijiiet.com

EFFECTS OF WATERING REGIME (WET AND DRY) ON

GROWTH RESPONSES OF ORNAMENTAL PALM SPECIES

Olatunse, B.B, Adeleye I.A

Department of Agricultural Technology, Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

ABSTRACT: An experiment was conducted in the screen house of the Department of Crop, Soil & Pest

management, Federal University of Technology Akure, to examine the responses of ornamental plants

species (royal palm, golden palm, queens, kings and oil palm) to water regime in the screen house and

the effects of wetting and drying cycle on growth (heights) of palm seedlings in the screen house. The

experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replicates. Watering regimes

imposed were once weekly, once fortnightly (2 weeks) and once in every 4 weeks. Data collected were

subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and means separation was done using the Duncan Multiple

Range Test (DMRT). The containerized plants were watered with 0.5 liters of water per pot at each

watering. Watering regimes significant (P<0.05) affected growth and development of palm

seedlings.Watering once in two weeks produced significantly (P<0.05) higher plant height from 1st month

– 6th month of the experiment. Number of leaves produced under weekly watering differed significantly

(P<0.05) from other watering regimes. Palm seedlings that received regular watering (weekly watering)

significantly (P<0.05) increased in height at rapid rate. The result of this study shows how essential

water is to the growth and development of ornamental palms. For optimum growth and development of

palm seedlings, it requires regular watering.

Keywords- dry, growth, palms, water, watering regime, wet.

1. INTRODUCTION

Worldwide crop production is limited by drought more than by any single other environmental stress [1].

Climate change, which will in general result in increased crop demand for water, will exacerbate this

limitation.

Palm species are important components of tropical rain forests and are present in all forest strata (canopy,

sub canopy and under storey). There are reports on the occurrence of palms in wet habitats such

mangroves, freshwater swamps and seasonally inundated forests. In dry environments they are prominent

in dry forests, savannahs and desert oases, but are excluded from environments with freezing

temperatures [2].

Drought stress is one of the most important environmental factors in reduction of growth, development

and production of plants. It can be said that it is one of the most devastating environmental stresses. Iran,

with an annual rainfall of 240 mm, is classified as one of those dry regions. Moisture stress is a limiting

factor for crop growth in arid and semi-arid regions due to low and uncertainty precipitation, Water stress

due to drought is probably the most significant abiotic factor limiting plant and also crop growth and

development [3].The severity of drought damage depends on stress duration and crop growth stage [4]

.Water typically constitutes 80-95% of the mass of growing plant tissues and plays a crucial role for plant



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growth [5] According to [6], Plants require water for a number of physiological processes (e.g. synthesis

of carbohydrates) and for associated physical functions (e.g. keeping plants turgid). Water accomplishes

its many functions because of its unique characteristics: the polarity of the molecule H2O (which makes it

an excellent solvent), viscosity (which makes it capable of moving through plant tissues by capillary

action) and thermal properties (which makes it capable of cooling plant tissues).

Plants require water, soil nutrients, carbon dioxide, oxygen and solar radiation for growth. Of these, water

is most often the most limiting: influencing productivity [5] as well as the diversity of species [7] in both

natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Araya [6] also posited that in addition to an adequate level of water in their tissues, plants also require a

continuous flux of water to perform vital processes such as photosynthesis and nutrient uptake. Water for

these is not always available in the right quantity and quality at the right time. This imbalance in water

supply and plant requirements result in plants undergoing occasional or, in some cases acute, water stress.

There are two types of water stresses that plants experience. One is when water is not available in

sufficient quantity, – hence referred to as water-deficit, while the second one is that when water is

available - but in excess, called water logging. [6].

Water and nutrient deficiency are major factors limiting the productivity and geographical

distribution of many species, including important agricultural crops [8; 9; 10]. Fertilization is most

effective when trees are not water-stressed, and irrigation is most effective when nutrients are not scarce

[11]. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of plant tolerance to water and nutrient stress is a crucial

environmental research topic [12]. Generally, exposure to water stresses triggers many common reactions

in plants that lead to a decrease in the growth rate and relative water content; change of the biomass

partition and nutrient distribution. Another consequence of exposure to these stresses is the increase in

root/shoot ratios and leaf relative conductivity. Numerous studies have shown that plants will respond to a

large set of parallel changes in growth, and in morphological and physiological responses when the plants

are exposed to water stress environment [13]

Oil palm (Elaeisguineensis Jacq.) is a perennial monocotyledonous plant which belongs to the family

Arecaceae originating from West Africa. The fruit pulp and nut that provide palm and kernel oil,

respectively, made oil palm a high yielding oil-producing crop [14; 15]. At present, palm oil production is

second only to that of soybean oil in terms of world vegetable oil production and the demand for palm oil

is expected to increase in future [16; 17; 18]. In order to meet the increasing demand for palm oil, an

improvement in yield is required despite the large body of literature on water and nutrient stress, as the

important stress of oil palm in most tropical or subtropical area. Although some reports showed that the

responses of oil palm are related to water stress [19; 20; 21]

The water content of the soil in oil palm plantations may play a key role in plant growth [20], and may

also function as a signal for female sex representation. In non-irrigated areas, there is a higher proportion

of male flowers and growth retardation, leading to low productivity. Basic knowledge relating to water

shortage responses in oil palm is a fruitful topic which should be investigated further for application in

water deficit tolerance screening.Water deficit is a major problem worldwide, limiting the growth and

productivity of many crop species, especially in rain field agricultural areas (totaling > 1.2 billion



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hectares). Plants show pysio-biochemical changes, such as decreased Rubisco activity, reduced

photochemical efficiency, enhanced accumulation of stress metabolites, increased antioxidant enzymes,

loss of membrane stability, reduced leaf water potential, pigment degradation, decreased stomata

conductance, reduced internal CO2 concentration, reduced net photosynthetic rate and inhibited growth

prior to plant death in response to water deficit [1].

Relatively few studies have been made on the effect of wetting water regime on the fruiting of omamental

palms. Hence, this study was undertaken to establish the effect of drying and wetting water regime on the

growth (height) of omamental palms.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experiment was conducted in the screen house of the Department of Crop, Soil and Pest

Management, of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The study area was located

between 7°16′N and longitude 5°12′E. The mean annual rainfall is 1500mm with relative humidity from

between 65 to 80%. The location is situated about 437mm above sea level with a mean annual

temperature of 24.3oc.

Five (5) species of palm seedlings (Golden, Royal, King, queens and oil palm) were obtained from

Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Benin City, Nigeria and were transplanted into

polythene pots containing 4kg of soil obtained from fallow vegetation. The transplanted seedlings were

watered to saturation. The polythene pots were perforated on the bottom to allow for drainage.

The treatments were randomly placed in the screen house using completely randomized design

experiment. The treatment applied was the watering regimes. The palm seedlings pots were arranged in

rows, which consist of five (5) different palms (Golden, Royal, King, queens and oil palm) seedlings pot

in each row. The 1st,

2nd

and 3rd

rows were watered every week, once in 2 weeks, and once in 4 weeks

respectively. The watering regimes imposed were once weekly, fortnightly (2 weeks) and once in every 4

weeks watered, using 0.5 litres of water per pot.

2.1 Data Collection

Data collection on plant growth characters commenced three weeks after transplanting (WAT). Growth

parameters recorded were: plant height and the weight of the potted plant before and after watering were

obtained in order to determine the water use by the palms.

2.2 Data Analysis

Data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and means separation was done using

the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT).

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 below shows, that Significant (p<0.05) differences were not found for plant height of golden

palm during the 1st

and 3rd

month of the experiment, however golden palm that were watered weekly had

the tallest plant after 6 months of the experiment while the one that was watered once in four weeks had

the shortest plant throughout the period of the experiment.Significant (p<0.05) differences were found for



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plant height of royal palm during the period of the experiment (6 months), however royal palm that were

watered weekly had the tallest plant after 6 months of the experiment while the one that was watered once

in four weeks had the shortest plant throughout the period of the experiment.Significant (p<0.05)

differences were found for plant height of queens palm during the period of the experiment (6 months),

however queens palm that were watered weekly had the tallest plant after 6 months of the experiment

while the one that was watered once in four weeks had the shortest plant throughout the period of the

experiment. It was also recorded that the queen’s palm watered monthly dried off at 6months of the

experiment.Significant (p<0.05) differences were not found for plant height of kings palm during 3rd

and

4th month of the experiment, however kings palm that were watered weekly had the tallest plant after 6

months of the experiment while the one that was watered once in four weeks had the shortest plant

throughout the period of the experiment. Significant (p<0.05) differences were found for plant height of

queens palm during the period of the experiment (6 months), however queens palm that were watered

weekly had the tallest plant after 6 months of the experiment while the one that was watered once in four

weeks had the shortest plant throughout the period of the experiment.

Table 1: Effect of Wetting and Drying Cycle on plant height among ornamental palm species (cm)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Palm species Watering

regime

Months after planting

Golden palm Weekly 26.67a-d 31.33abc 34.67ab 41.33a-c 44.00a-d 49.33a-d

Fortnight 26.00a-d 28.33ab 34.00ab 35.33a 39.33ab 47.00a-c

Monthly 28.67a-d 29.00abc 33.00ab 34.33a 35.67a 39.67ab

Royal palm Weekly 56.67fgh 57.67d-g 58.67cd 62.67de 63.00c-e 69.33e

Fortnight 54.00e-h 47.67c-f 55.00b-d 58.67c-e 64.67de 65.67de

Monthly 44.67d-g 54.67d-g 50.33b-d 56.67b-e 61.00b-e 59.00c-e

Queens palm Weekly 63.33h 67.67g 66.00d 70.00e 66.67e 65.33de

Fortnight 61.00gh 65.00fg 60.67cd 65.33de 62.67c-e 56.67b-e

Monthly 57.33fgh 59.67efg 64.33d 63.33de 63.33c-e 0

Kings palm Weekly 22.67abc 24.33ab 26.00a 34.33a 39.67ab 41.00a-c

Fortnight 20.00ab 23.33ab 26.33a 26.67a 29.67a 40.00ab

Monthly 18.33a 20.67a 23.33a 30.33a 34.00a 33.67a



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Oil palm Weekly 37.67b-e 41.33b-e 42.00a-c 47.33a-d 49.00a-e 54.33b-e

Fortnight 39.33c-f 40.67b-d 38.67a-c 41.67a-c 42.00a-c 42.00a-c

Monthly 36.67a-e 34.00a-c 35.00ab 37.00ab 37.00a 40.67a-c

Means bearing same letter along the column are not significantly different

Fig. 1 growth chart for golden palm Fig. 2 growth chart for royal palm

Fig. 3 growth chart for queens palm Fig. 4 growth chart for kings palm

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6

he

igh

ts i

n (

cm)

months

weekly 2 weeks monthly

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6h

eig

hts

in

(cm

)

months


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6

he

igh

ts i

n (

cm)

months

weeekly 2 weeks monthly

0

10

20

30

40

50

1 2 3 4 5 6

he

igh

ts i

n (

cm)

months




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Fig. 5 growth chart for oil palm

3.1 Discussion

From the result, the watering regime of weekly had the tallest plant in each of the ornamental palm

species, while various ornamental palms that received water once in four weeks had shortest plant, this

shows how essential water is to growth and development ornamental palm. The watering regime of

weekly had the highest value apparently in all the parameter took during and after the experiment while

the ornamental palms that received water once in four weeks had the lowest value. It was also observed

that the queens palm that received water once in four week dried off 6months after planting. Figure 1-5

shows the growth chart for all the palm species. From the chart, it is evident that the palms watered

weekly have the highest growth response compare to other wetting regimes. This shows how essential

water is to the growth and development of ornamental palms.

Oil palm that was watered weekly showed good response in terms of growth of the plant while the oil

palm that received water once in four week had poor growth. Although some reports showed that the

responses of oil palm are related to water stress [19; 20], or the effects of nutrient on plant growth,

physiological variance and yield of oil palm [22; 23; 24; 25]. The water content of the soil in oil palm

plantations may play a key role in plant growth, and may also function as a signal for female sex

representation [20]

4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

From the previous chapter, it was confirmed that ornamental palm species is not a drought resistance

plant. Palm species that was water weekly had better performance in terms of growth parameters recorded

while the palms that received water once in 4weeks perform less. These show the sensitivity of palm

species to soil water deficiency.For optimum growth and development of ornamental palms, it requires

regular watering and weeding.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6

he

igh

t in

(cm

)monthsweekly 2 weeks monthly



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G1502