Seedling Characteristics of Three Oily Species before and after Root Pruning and Transplant

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 8; p. 258
• Main Authors: Valdés-Rodríguez, Ofelia Andrea, Pérez-Vázquez, Arturo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30-07-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Altitude; Biomass; Climate; Environmental conditions; Experiments; Jatropha; Jatropha curcas; Moringa oleifera; Morphology; Plant propagation; Precipitation; Propagation; Pruning; Ricinus; Ricinus communis; Root distribution; root systems; Roots; Seedlings; Seeds; Species; Standard deviation; Trays; root systems; Moringa oleifera; Jatropha curcas; Ricinus communis
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants8080258

Lam. (
),
L. (
), and
L. (
) are oily species known by their capability to grow in tropical and subtropical lands. However, there are no studies comparing their growth and recovery capabilities after root pruning and transplant. The purpose of this research was to compare and analyze propagation, growth, and recovery performance of these species after root pruning and transplant. We sowed 100 seeds per species and monitored their survival and growth during a 63-day period; after this, we uprooted the plants and pruned their roots 4.0 cm from their base and transplanted them. We monitored their recovery over 83 days, and then uprooted plants and measured above- and belowground data, digitized their roots in three dimensions, and calculated biomass fractions. With this information, we established allometric equations to estimate biomass fractions and root distribution models. Results indicated that
had the highest propagation capabilities.
and
had similar recovery after root pruning and transplant.
had the lowest propagation and recovery from transplant. Concerning belowground data, root pruning increased root density more than three times in
, four times in
, and six times in
. Nevertheless, the three species maintained natural root trays.
had the longest and thinnest roots and the highest number of branches, followed by
, and finally
, with the smallest quantity and the shortest and thickest roots. We concluded that the three species recovered well from root pruning and transplant, with improved root structure upon applying these practices.