Growth Rate and Biomass Production of Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) Seedlings as Affected by Different Organic Soil Amendments

Entandrophragma angolense is a tropical tree species with a very slow growth rate. To overcome this barrier, a study on the effect of organic amendment on the growth rate of Entandrophragma angolense seedlings was conducted in the nursery section of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Herein, 2kg polythene pots, each containing top soil were all amended with Poultry droppings (PRD), Cow dung (CWD) and Compost (CPT) at a ratio of 2:1, while top soil alone served as the control. Employing a completely randomized design (CRD), growth variables were recorded on a fortnight basis. The seedlings were assessed for height, number of leaves and collar diameter for a total period of 20 weeks. Fresh weights and total dry weights of the seedlings were also determined at the end of the experiment. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in the effect of organic amendments on the plant mean height and number of leaves throughout the study period, however, a significant difference was observed in collar diameter at 2 weeks after treatment and 12 weeks after treatment alone. Organic amendment was found to influence general biomass production in the specie, although there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in stem biomass production. Conclusively, organic amendment can be said not to have significantly (p>0.05) affected the growth of E. angolense, while this cannot be said of the biomass production, albeit at a low level of significance.