International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

ISSN (Online): 2349-2287, ISSN (Print): 2349-2279

Volume 2 Issue 3 July 2015

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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International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

ISSN (Online): 2349-2287, ISSN (Print): 2349-2279
Volume 2 Issue 3 July 2015
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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International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

ISSN (Online): 2349-2287, ISSN (Print): 2349-2279
Volume 2 Issue 3 July 2015
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 716N and longitude 512E. 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
26

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International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

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

Palm species

Watering
regime

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

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

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

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

Royal palm

Queens palm

Kings palm

Months after planting

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International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

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

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
60

heights in (cm)

heights in (cm)

50
40
30
20
10
0
1

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

months
weekly

2 weeks

months

monthly

weekly

Fig. 1 growth chart for golden palm

2 weeks

monthly

Fig. 2 growth chart for royal palm

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

50

heights in (cm)

heights in (cm)

40
30
20
10
0

2 weeks

months

months
weeekly

weekly

monthly

Fig. 3 growth chart for queens palm

2 weeks

monthly

Fig. 4 growth chart for kings palm

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height in (cm)

International Journal of Infinite Innovations in Engineering and Technology.

ISSN (Online): 2349-2287, ISSN (Print): 2349-2279
Volume 2 Issue 3 July 2015
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1

2
weekly

2 months
weeks

monthly

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.

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