Abstract
A study was carried out to assess the growth, flowering and fruiting of stecklings (rooted cuttings), grafts and seedlings of Allanblackia floribunda in Cameroun. Thirty-one individuals of each plantlet type were planted in May 2006. Height, collar and crown diameters were recorded in September and October, while flowering and fruiting were recorded each month from January to December. In 2014, the trees with the greatest height were those from seeds (6.98 ± 0.25 m), followed by those from grafts (1.65 ± 0.23 m) and cuttings (1.09 ± 0.21 m). Grafts started flowering and fruiting 3 years after planting, while seedlings started flowering and fruiting after four and 6 years, respectively. Stecklings still had not flowered 8 years after planting. Fruit weight and length from seed-origin trees are about seven times higher than grafts. Correlations between height and crown diameter were significant and positive irrespective of the nature of the planting material. In conclusion, grafts fruited earlier, while seedlings grew faster and had greater yields than grafts and stecklings of A. floribunda.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this study was provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through “Promoting Rural Innovation through Participatory Tree Domestication” and “Fruits for Africa” Projects, the Belgian Development Cooperation through “Agroforestry Tree Products for Africa” and CGIAR_CRP6 and CRP Genebank. The Institute for Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD, Cameroon) is acknowledged for providing climatic data.
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Tsobeng, A., Asaah, E., Tchoundjeu, Z. et al. Growth, flowering and fruiting of stecklings, grafts and seedlings of Allanblackia floribunda Oliver (Clusiaceae). Agroforest Syst 91, 259–270 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9925-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9925-z