Effect of Provenance and Soil Type on the Growth of Tectona grandis Linn

The forest has been very useful to man as he obtains food, shelter, revenue, energy etc. from it. However, increase in demand for forest products has resulted in over exploitation and extinction of some forest trees. Therefore, there is an urgent need of supplying improved seeds for afforestation and forest regeneration in various forestry establishments. Nursery experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of provenance and soil type on the growth of Tectona grandis. Seeds were collected from different locations in three different states namely: Ekiti, Osun and Oyo State. Seeds were collected from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State; Iwo, Osun State and Ibadan, Oyo State. The seeds were pre-treated by soaking in the stream for two weeks before planting. The seeds were broadcasted on a germination bed at the college nursery and later, were transplanted into polythene pots containing the different soil types. The parameters assessed include total height, stem diameter and leaf production. Tectona grandis seeds collected from Oyo State and grown on loamy soil (T6) gave the best result in both total height and stem diameter (10.22 cm and 0.20 cm respectively) while Teak seeds collected from Oyo State and raised on sandy soil gave the best result for leaf count (8.17). The seeds collected from Oyo State performed better on sandy soil, best on loamy soil and less on clay soil. Seeds collected from Ekiti performed well in total height on loamy soil (9.48 cm), in stem diameter on sandy soil (0.17 cm) and in number of leaves both in sandy and clay soil (7.25). The seeds collected from Osun State performed well in total height and stem diameter on loamy soil (9.97 cm and 0.19 cm respectively) and had the same value for number of leaves in the three soil samples (7.08). Based on the findings of this work, it is hereby recommended that Tectona grandis seedlings should be raised using loamy soil at nursery stage. Also seeds of Tectona grandis should be collected from a location of similar geographical properties.