Effects of Irrigation Interval and Planting Spacing on the Establishment and Growth of Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev. Transplants in Arid Land Soils

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the establishment of Faidherbia
albida transplants under the effect of irrigation intervals and planting
spacing in the field conditions. It consisted of three irrigation intervals of
5, 10 and 15 days and three planting spacings of 1x1 m, 1x2 m, and 2x3
m; and it was conducted in the premises of the Forest Research Center,
Khartoum, during May 2008 to June 2009. The results showed that the
temporal growth rate of F. albida shoot heights was greater in winter
(November-February), but it was seriously slowed during the summer
period (March-June). The shoot height, diameter and biomass growth of
F. albida increased with decreasing irrigation intervals; the growth of
these parameters was highest in 5 days interval and lowest in 15 days
interval. Planting spacings had no direct definite effect on F. albida
seedlings’ growth parameters. Even though, in the longer irrigation
intervals, transplants’ growth tented to be greater in the wider spacing.
Root biomass development seemed to be higher in the longer irrigation
interval regimes. There were no significant differences in the foliar
nutrient content of the transplants between the different irrigation
intervals. The values of mineral elements measured in this study are
indicative of moderate nutrient supply for the F. albida transplants