effect of planting density on growth and biomass …ejtafs.mardi.gov.my/jtafs/35-1/dukung anak.pdf4...
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W.M. Wan Zaki and Y. MusaJ. Trop. Agric. and Fd. Sc. 35(1)(2007): 1– 8
Effect of planting density on growth and biomass yields of two dukung anak species, Phyllanthus debilis and Phyllanthus urinaria, grown on alluvial soil(Pengaruh populasi tanaman terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil dua spesies dukung anak, Phyllanthus debilis dan Phyllanthus urinaria di tanah aluvium)
W.M. Wan Zaki* and Y. Musa**
Key words: dukung anak, Phyllanthus debilis, Phyllanthus urinaria, planting density, alluvial soil
AbstractA study was conducted to determine the effect of planting density, through manipulation of interplant distance and number of rows per bed, on growth and biomass yields of two species of dukung anak (Phyllanthus debilis and Phyllanthus urinaria) grown on alluvial soil at two locations. The fresh and dried biomass yields per hectare of the two species of dukung anak were significantly different, with the biomass yields of P. urinaria consistently higher than P. debilis at both locations. The lower plant height of P. urinaria thanP. debilis was compensated by higher number of branches per plant that contributed significantly to higher yield for P. urinaria. The average drying ratio was 3.9 for both species of dukung anak at both locations. Closer interplant distance and higher number of plant rows per bed also consistently increased the fresh and dried biomass yields per hectare. The highest fresh and dried biomass yields for both species were obtained at interplant distance of 30 cm with two rows per bed, which gave a population of 55,554 plants per hectare.
*Rice and Industrial Crops Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box �230�, 50774 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia**MARDI Station, Telong, �63�0 Bachok, Kelantan, MalaysiaAuthors’ full names: Wan Zaki Wan Mamat and Musa YaacobE-mail: [email protected]©Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, 2007
Introduction‘Pokok dukung anak’ is the local name for a few species of herbaceous Phyllanthus plants. Among the most commonly found and frequently used species in the traditional medicine are Phyllanthus debilis and Phyllanthus urinaria. Under natural conditions, most species of dukung anak plant are regarded as weeds. They adapted well to adverse growing conditions and are capable of growing almost everywhere including by the roadside and unattended flower pots.
Traditionally, these dukung anak species are normally used to treat hepatitis, jaundice, hypertension and diabetes (Burkill and Haniff �930; Gimlette and Burkill �930). The extract of dukung anak plant was also reported to be effective in treating wounds and scurf (Jaganath and Ng 2000; Jaganath et al. 2000). A few dukung anak species have been studied extensively for treating diseases associated with the liver such as hepatitis B (Thyagarajan �988; Reichert et al. �997).
2
Effect of planting density of dukung anak (Phyllanthus sp.)
Locally, the demand for dukung anak is expected to increase significantly as it is being used in commercial production of herbal preparation for treating hepatitis B. Thus, there is a need to evaluate the potential of cultivating dukung anak species for commercial production. Hence, a study was conducted to determine the effects of planting density on yield, by manipulating the interplant distance and number of rows per bed, for two common dukung anak species namely P. debilis and P. urinaria.
Materials and methodsLocation and planting materialTwo locations on alluvial soil were selected for the study, which were at Kg. Limbat in Kota Bharu and Kg. Bukit Nangka in Jeli, Kelantan. The seedlings of dukung anak, which were raised in black plastic trays having �04 plug cells, were transplanted to the field 35 days after potting.
Crop managementPrior to transplanting, planting beds measuring �.2 m by 5 m were covered with plastic mulch to control weed growth and reduce splashing of soil to the plants. This helps to reduce contamination to the harvested product. The crop was fertilized using a specialised drip fertigation method as it is more advantageous than the manual fertilization method (Mohammud et al. 2002; Wan Zaki et al. 2002, 2003, 2004). Water soluble fertilizer with a ratio of �0:20:30 + TE was used at a rate equivalent to 80 kg N/ha for both locations. Fertilizer was applied three times a week beginning from transplanting up to two weeks prior to harvesting. The aerial plant parts were harvested at 90 days after transplanting.
Treatments and experimental design Treatments in this study consisted of two dukung anak species P. debilis and P. urinaria, number of rows per bed that is, single and double rows, and interplant distances of 30, 50, 70 and 90 cm. Split plot design was used with dukung anak species
being assigned to the main plot. This was followed by the number of rows per bed in the sub-plot and interplant distance in the sub-sub-plot. All treatments were replicated three times. From the combination between interplant distance and number of rows per bed, several planting densities were obtained. At single row per bed and interplant distances of 30, 50, 70 and 90 cm, a population of 27,777, �6,666, ��,904 and 9,259 plants per hectare were obtained. When the number of rows was doubled, the population per hectare was also doubled to 55,554, 33,332, 23,808 and �8,5�8.
Parameter measurement and statistical analysisThe fresh biomass yield was obtained using whole plot sampling technique. The harvested plant parts were then dried in a commercial dryer at 40 °C for 72 h to achieve a moisture content of about �0%. The fresh and dried yield data were transformed into per hectare and per plant basis. Analysis of data was carried out using SAS statistical package (SAS Inst. �985). When the ANOVA for location, species and number of rows per bed was significant, mean separation using t-test was carried out. However, when the ANOVA for interplant spacing was significant, orthogonal contrast analysis was carried out to determine appropriate trend.
ResultsCombined ANOVA indicated significant interaction between two or three treatment factors involving location, species, number of rows per bed, or interplant distance.
The growth responsePlant height was significantly affected by species x row x distance interaction at p = 0.05 (Table 1). On the average, P. debilis grew taller than P. urinaria, while P. urinaria became taller when planted in double rows per bed compared to single row planting. For P. debilis, the trend of
3
W.M. Wan Zaki and Y. Musa
Tabl
e �.
Mea
ns s
quar
es f
or c
ombi
ned
AN
OV
A f
or s
tudy
on
duku
ng a
nak,
200
3
Sour
ce
Plan
t Pl
ant
Can
opy
Bra
nch
Wei
ght
per
plan
t (g
) B
iom
ass
yiel
d (k
g/ha
) D
ryin
g
su
rviv
al
heig
ht
diam
eter
pe
r pl
ant
ratio
(%)
(cm
) (c
m)
Fr
esh
Dry
Fr
esh
Dry
Loc
atio
n (L
) 6�
ns
�3
73
ns
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5683
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35
**
6207
5233
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0.
69 n
sR
ep
520
ns
342
ns
230
* 70
9�8
* 65
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6�9
ns
3678
924
* 28
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0.
34 n
s
Err
or(a
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ecie
s (S
) 48
ns
47
74
* �0
496
**
333�
�4
* 49
454
* 27
99
**
3399
830�
*
�896
�88
**
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85
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32
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2707
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s
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ow (
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28
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888
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430
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23
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4575
2532
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437
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79
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rror
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2640
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66
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29
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55
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72
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42
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96
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24
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96
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290
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4
Effect of planting density of dukung anak (Phyllanthus sp.)
single and double row plantings showed different response with increase in height of single row planting and decrease in height of double row planting with the increase in interplant distance (Figure 1). The trend of taller plant with high number of rows per bed and closer interplant distance clearly indicates the effect of interplant competition. In crowded population, the plants normally tried to outgrow each other especially for fulfilling their requirement for sunlight thus leading to the tendency of becoming taller. The canopy diameter and number of branches per plant were significantly affected by species of dukung anak at p = 0.0� and p = 0.05 respectively (Table 1). Phyllanthus debilis had significantly wider canopy diameter than P. urinaria (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Significant interaction between species, number of rows per bed and interplant distance on dukung anak grown on alluvial soil
Figure 2. Canopy diameter and number of branches per plant as influenced by dukung anak species grown on alluvial soil
However, the number of branches per plant for P. urinaria was higher than P. debilis (Figure 2). Visual observation on the structure of the two dukung anak species in the field showed that P. urinaria was more compact with higher number of branches compared to the loose and less branching nature of P. debilis (Plate 1) which had been explained by the canopy width and number of branches per plant in the early part of this paragraph.
The yield responseWeight per plant Fresh and dry weights per plant were significantly influenced (p = 0.05) by the species x location interaction (Table 1). The result showed that P. urinaria had consistently higher fresh and dry weights per plant than P. debilis at both locations (Figure 3).
Biomass yield per hectare The fresh and dry biomass yields of dukung anak were significantly influenced by two or more treatments involving species, number of rows per bed or location interaction (Table 1). As shown in Figure 4, P. urinaria had higher fresh and dry biomass yields than P. debilis, double row planting gave higher biomass yields than single row planting and the biomass yields were higher in location � than location 2. The fresh and dry biomass yields of dukung anak grown on alluvial soil were also significantly affected by species x interplant distance at p = 0.0� (fresh) and p = 0.05 (dry) (Table 1). Figure 5 showed that P. urinaria, again, produced higher biomass yields than P. debilis. The same figure also showed a negative linear response of biomass yields to interplant distance, which meant that closer interplant distance provided higher biomass yields of both dukung anak species. Significant interaction between number of rows per bed and interplant distance on fresh biomass yield of dukung anak was also observed in this study (Figure 6). The double row planting consistently gave higher
�0
20
30
40
50
▲
▲
▲
▲ ▲
P. urinaria, double rowsP. urinaria, single rowP. deblilis, double rowsP. deblilis, single row
90807060504030
Plan
t hei
ght (
cm)
Interplant distance (cm)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70 Canopy diameter
P. urinaria
Can
opy
diam
eter
(cm
)
P. debilis0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Branch number
Bra
nch
num
ber
per
plan
t
5
W.M. Wan Zaki and Y. Musa
fresh biomass yield than the single row planting, and interplant distance showed a negative linear response on the same parameter. These findings further showed that planting dukung anak species at a wider
interplant distance would negatively affect the biomass yield as the higher weight per plant could not compensate for the reduced number of plants per hectare.
Plate 1. Plant growth characteristics of Phyllanthus urinaria (left) and Phyllanthus debilis (right) that influence the yield production of dukung anak species
Figure 3. Performance of two dukung anak species at two locations on alluvial soil
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Location 2
Fres
h w
eigh
t per
pla
nt (
g)
Dry
wei
ght p
er p
lant
(g)
Location 1
P. urinariaP. debilis0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Location 2
Location 1
P. urinariaP. debilis
Figure 4. Performance of two species of dukung anak at different number of rows per bed at two different locations on alluvial soil
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
P. urinaria, Loc. 2P. debilis, Loc. 2P. urinaria, Loc. 1P. debilis, Loc. 1
21
Fres
h bi
omas
s yi
eld
(kg/
ha)
Dry
bio
mas
s yi
eld
(kg/
ha)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
P. urinaria, Loc. 2P. debilis, Loc. 2P. urinaria, Loc. 1P. debilis, Loc. 1
21
6
Effect of planting density of dukung anak (Phyllanthus sp.)
DiscussionIn cultivating dukung anak, high yield could be obtained by planting high yielding species as different species have different yield potential. Another important factor in determining the yield of most herbal crops, including dukung anak, is the drying ratio. The drying ratio for both P. urinaria and P. debilis was 3.9 (Table 1). This value indicated that, to obtain � tonne of dried dukung anak, about 3.9 t of fresh weight of either species must be produced. The lower biomass yield for dukung anak in location 2 at Kg. Bukit Nangka was attributed to less vigorous growth due to occurrence of severe drought during the active growth stage. This drought condition
resulted in the unavailability of water for irrigation due to drying up of the water source. Significant interaction between species and number of rows per bed indicated that both species of dukung anak had different yield potential with P. urinaria always producing higher fresh and dry yields than P. debilis, especially at higher number of rows per bed. The trend of linear increase in yield with higher number of rows per bed for both species indicated that both species gave the same response to the number of rows per bed, but with different magnitude. The higher biomass yield of P. urinaria was due to significant higher number of branches per plant at a much lower height and canopy diameter. This could be explained by significant correlation of the canopy (r = 0.20, p = 0.05) and the number of branches per plant (r = 0.55, p = 0.0�) to the dry biomass yield of dukung anak grown on alluvial soil (Table 2). Although plant height at harvest correlated significantly to the canopy diameter (r = 0.6�, p = 0.0�), it correlated negatively to the number of branches per plant (r = –0.22, p = 0.05) (Table 2). This finding indicated that taller plant of dukung anak with wider canopy did not necessarily has higher number of branches per plant. Since the biomasss yields of dukung anak correlated significantly to the fresh and dry weights per plant, any parameter that
Fres
h bi
omas
s yi
eld
(kg/
ha)
Interplant distance (cm)
0
500
�000
�500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Double rowsSingle row
90807060504030
Figure 6. Response of number of rows per bed and interplant distance on fresh biomass yield per hectare
Figure 5. Response of two species of dukung anak grown on alluvial soil to different interplant distances
0
�000
2000
3000
4000
5000
P. urinariaP. deblilis
908070605040300
200
400
600
800
�000
�200
P. urinariaP. deblilis
90807060504030
Fres
h bi
omas
s yi
eld
(kg/
ha)
Dry
bio
mas
s yi
eld
(kg/
ha)
Interplant distance (cm)
7
W.M. Wan Zaki and Y. Musa
correlated significantly to the weight per plant should also be considered as potential contributing factor for increasing the biomass yield. The significant correlations observed on weights per plant were canopy diameter (r = 0.29, p = 0.0� for fresh, r = 0.32, p = 0.0� for dry) and number of branches per plant (r = 0.74, p = 0.0� for fresh, r = 0.72, p = 0.0� for dry) (Table 2). However, fresh biomass yield per hectare was not correlated to canopy diameter of dukung anak grown on alluvial soil.
ConclusionThis study showed that P. urinaria grown on alluvial soil, consistently produces higher biomass yields than P. debilis. This study also indicated that higher number of rows per bed and lowest interplant distance produced highest biomass yield for both species of dukung anak on alluvial soil. The combination of double row per bed at 30 cm interplant distance gave a population of 55,554 plants per hectare. When highest population produced highest biomass yield, the possibility of broadcasting the seeds of dukung anak directly on to the planting bed in the field should be explored. However, appropriate management practices should be exercised so that the dukung anak plants are not overgrown by weeds. The associated field activities such as using plastic mulch, fertilization method and watering technique need to be revised to suit the new population density.
AcknowledgementThe authors gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance from Mr Mohamed Jusoh and Mr Mohd Rosli Ismail for successfully conducting field experiments. This project was funded by IRPA (Research Grant No. 0�–03–03–0�03 EA00�).
Tabl
e 2.
Cor
rela
tion
coef
ficie
nt b
etw
een
vari
ous
para
met
ers
stud
ied,
com
bine
d ov
er l
ocat
ion
Sour
ce
Plan
t Pl
ant
Can
opy
Num
ber
of
Wei
ght
per
plan
t B
iom
ass
yiel
d
surv
ival
he
ight
di
amet
er
bran
ches
per
plan
t Fr
esh
Dry
Fr
esh
Dry
Surv
ival
�.
0Pl
ant
heig
ht
ns
�.0
Can
opy
diam
eter
ns
0
.6�*
* �.
0N
o. o
f br
anch
es p
er p
lant
ns
–0
.22*
ns
�.
0Fr
esh
wei
ght
per
plan
t ns
ns
0.
29**
0.
74**
�.
0D
ry w
eigh
t pe
r pl
ant
ns
ns
0.32
**
0.72
**
0.98
**
�.0
Fres
h bi
omas
s yi
eld
per
hect
are
0.28
**
ns
ns
0.56
**
0.65
**
0.62
**
�.0
Dri
ed b
iom
ass
yiel
d pe
r he
ctar
e 0.
28**
ns
0.
20*
0.55
**
0.66
**
0.64
**
0.99
**
�.0
ns =
Not
sig
nific
ant
*Sig
nific
antly
dif
fenr
ent
at p
<0.
05;
**Si
gnifi
cant
ly d
iffe
rent
at
p <
0.0�
8
Effect of planting density of dukung anak (Phyllanthus sp.)
ReferencesBurkill, I.H. and Haniff, M. (�930). Malay Village
Medicine. Garden’s Bulletin 6(2): �67–332Gimlette, G.D. and Burkill, I.H. (�930). The
Medical Book of Malayan Medicine. Garden’s Bulletin 6(3): 332–498
Jaganath, I.B. and Ng, L.T. (2000). Herbs: The Green Pharmacy of Malaysia. �26 p. Kuala Lumpur: Vinpress Sdn. Bhd./MARDI
Jaganath, I.B., Samiyah, M.N., Razali, A.R. and Muthuvelu, C. (2000). Herba Berpotensi di Malaysia. 3� p. Serdang: MARDI
Mohammud, C.H., Wan Zaki, W.M., Kuan, M., Laughlin, M. and Baker, J. (2002). Drip chemigation system for tobacco on bris soil. Paper presented at Malaysian Society of Plant Physiology Conference 2002, �0–�2 Sept. 2002, Melaka, 5 p. Organiser: MSPP, MARDI, LGM and FRIM
Reichert, R. (�997). Phytotherapeutic alternatives for chronic hepatitis. Quart Rev Natural Med Summer: �03–8
SAS Inst. (�985). SAS User’s Guide: Statistics Ver. 5. SAS Cary, North Carolina, USA: �005–�2
Thyagarajan, S.P., Thirunalasundari, T., Subramaniam, S., Venkateswaran, P.S. and Blumberg, B.S. (�988). Effect of Phyllanthus amarus on chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus. The Lancet 332: 764–6
Wan Zaki, W.M., Mohammud, C.H., Kuan, M., Laughlin, M. and Baker, J. (2002). Malaysian flue-cured response to fertilizer redistribution on bris soil. Paper presented at Malaysian Society of Plant Physiology Conference 2002, �0–�2 Sept. 2002, Melaka, 6 p. Organiser: MSPP, MARDI, LGM and FRIM
Wan Zaki, W.M., Mohammud, C.H., Kuan, M., Laughlin, M., Baker, J., Mohamed, J. and Kassim, M.M. (2003). Effect of soil treatments and fertilizer application methods on productivity of crop grown on alluvial and bris soils. Proc. Malaysian Soc. Soil Sci. Conference 2003. (Zainol Eusof et al., ed.), �5 –�6 Apr. 2003, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, p. 266–70. Kuala Lumpur: MSSS
–––– (2004). Management of nutrient availability within the root zone by fertilizer redistribution through drip fertigation method. Proc. Soils 2004 Conference. (Zin, Z.Z. et al., eds.), Pulau Pinang, p. 29–33. Kuala Lumpur: MSSS
AbstrakKajian telah dijalankan untuk menentukan kesan kepadatan tanaman, melalui manipulasi jarak tanaman dan bilangan baris sebatas, terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil biomas dua spesies dukung anak (Phyllanthus debilis dan Phyllanthus urinaria) yang ditanam di dua lokasi di tanah aluvium. Hasil biomas basah dan kering sehektar ketara berbeza dengan hasil biomas P. urinaria, secara konsisten, adalah lebih tinggi daripada P. debilis di kedua-dua lokasi. Tinggi pokok P. urinaria yang lebih rendah daripada P. debilis telah diimbangi oleh lebih banyak bilangan dahan sepokok yang telah menyumbang dengan ketara terhadap hasil yang lebih tinggi untuk P. urinaria. Purata nisbah pengeringan ialah 3.9 bagi kedua-dua spesies dukung anak di kedua-dua lokasi. Jarak yang lebih rapat di antara pokok serta bilangan baris sebatas yang lebih banyak juga telah, secara konsisten, meningkatkan hasil biomas basah dan kering sehektar. Hasil biomas basah dan kering yang tertinggi bagi kedua-dua spesies dukung anak diperoleh daripada gabungan jarak di antara pokok 30 cm dengan dua baris sebatas, yang memberikan kepadatan sebanyak 55,554 pokok sehektar.
Accepted for publication on 27 March 2006