Growth evaluation of several types of energy crops from tropical shrubs species

Abstract

Background: Few species of tropical shrubs potentially produce biomass to replace fossil fuels for heat production and electricity. The aims of this study were to determine the growth and nutrient status of leaves of several types of energy crops from tropical shrub species with NPK fertilizer application. Methods: Randomized block design was used with ten replications of four levels of fertilizer treatment: T0 = 40 g, T1 = 80 g, T2 = 120 g and T4 = 160 g per plant. Results: The results indicated that fertilization increased plant growth and the quantity of nutrients in leaves. The plants accumulated a lot of potassium, followed by nitrogen and phosphorus. The species of tropical shrubs with the best growth were Vernonia amygdalina, Calliandra calothyrsus and Gliricidia sepium, which are all potentially cultivated as sustainable energy crops. Conclusions: Serious attention must be paid to the availability of soil nutrients in order to sustain the cultivation of these plants.

The application of NPK fertilizer boosts the nutrient uptake status and biomass production of Vernonia amygdalina

“…The study design used a Complete Randomized Block Design, which consisted of five NPK fertilizer treatments, namely 0 g (without fertilizer as a control), 40 g, 80 g, 120 g, and 160 g respectively with 3 blocks, every 10 replications and total are 150 plants. Fertilization was done two weeks after planting with commercial NPK fertilizer by YARA, Oslo Norway: N (16%), P (16%), K (16%), Mg (1.5%) and 5% Ca (5%) (Susanto et al 2019a).…”

“…Study conducted by Payne (2011) showed no effect between plant spacing and plant height, wet weight, and dry weight of V. amygdalina plants. Susanto et al (2019a) reported that at the age of 6 months after planting, several types of tropical shrub plants accumulated a lot of potassium, followed by nitrogen and phosphorus in the leaves. Kemka-Evans et al (2014) reported that epidermal characters are of taxonomic importance in the classification and delimitation of the four taxa among the three species of Vernonia.…”

“…This plant can be propagated by stem cuttings (Ehiagbonare 2007;Anjula et al 2014;Susanto et al 2019a;Ma'rufah and Aziz 2019) and tissue culture (Eveline-Kong et al 2016;Mey-Yin and Sani. 2018 ).…”

Effect of organic manure fertilizer on the growth of Macaranga gigantea

“…High nutrient productivity is influenced by long nutrient retention indicated with the high productivity for agriculture capacity, yet it only happened on fertile soil (Hiremath et al 2002). Susanto et al (2019) reported that the accumulation of nutrients in the leaves of the tropical shrub plants varied widely, nitrogen 1.4-2.18%, phosporus 0.11-0.28%, potassium 0.44-2.98%.…”