Effects of Paclobutrazol on the Growth of Marang (Artocarpus odoratissimus) Seedlings

Document Type : Research paper

Authors

1 Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Central Mindanao University, Philippines

2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Central Mindanao University, Philippines

Abstract

Shorter trees are ideal in tree orchards and allow easy harvesting, thus increasing fruit yields per unit area. In the Philippines, marang has been considered a potential crop to help food security. However, the crop can grow very tall and make fruit harvesting tedious. This study was conducted to determine if paclobutrazol (PBZ) at concentrations of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm, applied as a media drench, could regulate the growth of marang at the seedling stage. Results showed that paclobutrazol treatment reduced the leaf size of 110-day-old seedlings by almost four-fold compared to the non-PBZtreated group (control). The stomatal density of the leaf in 250, 500, and 1000 PBZ-treated seedlings was 8.51, 8.49, and 8.11 mm-2 compared to only 5.62 mm-2 in the control, respectively. Closed stomata in 250, 500, and 1000 ppm PBZ-treated seedlings were 2.78, 2.49, and 3.24 mm-2 compared to 1.33 mm-2 in the control, respectively. The 250 ppm PBZ treatment increased the chlorophyll index (489.08) in the marang leaf compared to the control with 256.58. Seedling shoot length decreased five-fold and root length by 42.35-52.23% in response to the paclobutrazol treatment. The control seedling fresh weight (18.33 g) was nearly five-fold heavier than the PBZ-treated seedlings. The shootroot ratio of the control seedlings was three-fold higher than the PBZtreated seedlings. On the other hand, PBZ treatments resulted in a three-fold increase in the root-to-shoot ratio. These results can appear promising in producing shorter marang trees with longer roots to ease horticultural management in orchards.

Keywords

International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology
Volume 12, Issue 2
April 2025
Pages 221-232

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 27 February 2024
  • Accept Date: 03 April 2024

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