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Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) - Call for papers!

Effects of endomycorrhizal inoculation on the growth and survival of Jatropha curcas L., Acacia mangium Willd, and Casuarina equisetifolia J.R. & G. Forst seedling in nickel-mined soil in Southern Palawan, Philippines

(Philippines), Master of Science in Forestry: Silviculture and Forest Influences (University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Thesis Abstract:

The influence of vesicular-arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (VAMF) on the growth of Jatropha curcas, Acacia mangium, and Casuarina equisetifolia in the abandoned mined soil with 1.01 percent nickel concentration was examined at the experimental area of Western Philippines University (WPU), Aborlan, Palawan for eight months. To evaluate growth performance, the height, diameter, biomass yield, root volume, root-shoot ratio, and NPK uptake were used as parameters. Nickel content of plant tissues was used to determine phytoremediation potential of the species.
 
In the nickel-mined soil, A. mangium (70.19 cm) obtained significantly betterheight performance than C. equisetifolia (56.12 cm) and J. curcas (24.67 cm). A.mangium showed no significant difference on biomass yield in the nickel-mined sites (22.63 g/plant) and fertile soil (29.21 g/plant), and root volume at 14.20 cm<sup>3</sup> and 16.79 cm<sup>3</sup>, respectively. The non-significant variations on biomass yield and root volume on both soils indicate that this species had performed even in the nickelcontaminated soil.
 
VAMF-inoculated seedlings height of C. equisetifolia was significantly higher with a mean of 2.14 cm compared to the non-inoculated seedlings with 0.52 cm. The same species also registered larger stem diameter by 260 percent over the noninoculated seedlings. On P uptake, VAMF-inoculated seedlings significantly improved J. curcas by 39.06 percent in the fertile and 33.33 percent in the nickel-mined soil while no significant variations were observed for A. mangium and C. equisetifolia.
 
On the other hand, VAMF influence was evident on the nickel uptake of A. mangium which accumulated statistically higher amount of nickel at 12.22 mg/kg as against the 7.26 mg/kg from the non-inoculated seedlings.
 
Based on the results, C. equisetifolia and A. mangium showed potential candidate species for the rehabilitation of the abandoned mined soil in Palawan.