VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION OF TRIPLOCHITON SCLEROXYLON K. SCHUM IN GHANA

Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum (Sterculiaceae) is an economically i mportant timber species of West Africa which has been heavily exploite d in recent years. Vegetative propagation techniques have been develop ed for the species to overcome difficulties of seed supply, and to enc ourage reforestation efforts. The current study describes the first ap plication of such techniques in Ghana, using a low technology propagat ion system. Three experiments were carried out, testing two stockplant growth environments (direct sunlight and 50% shade) with (i) applicat ion of fertilizer (NPK, 15:15:15) to stockplants; (ii) different cutti ng leaf areas (30, 50, 80 and 100 cm(2)) and; (iii) different cutting stem lengths (5, 10 and 15 cm). Addition of fertilizer to the stockpla nts significantly increased rooting percentage (P = 0.001, ANOVA), par ticularly in the stockplants grown under high irradiance. The effect o f cutting leaf area on rooting percentage was significant (P = 0.011, ANOVA), with highest rooting percentages recorded in the 100 cm(2) tre atments. No significant interaction with irradiance treatment with lea f area was recorded. Tn the third experiment, the effect of irradiance treatment on rooting percentage was highly significant (P < 0.001, AN OVA), with highest rooting percentages recorded in the cuttings from s tockplants grown under shade. There was no significant effect of stem length on rooting ability. These results indicate that T. scleroxylon is amenable to vegetative propagation using the techniques described, with rooting percentages of around 50% achieved in each of the three e xperiments. On the basis of these results, fertilization of stockplant s and the use of cutting leaf areas of 100 cm2 may be recommended for use in the propagation system described. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V .