Danso, F; Adu, C; Opoku, A; Danso, I; Anim Okyere, S and Larbi E
The use of quality growth medium enhances oil palm growth and development. The continuous use of soil has become environmentally unsustainable. Compost has been found to have the potential to replace not only soil but also fertilizer in the nursery. The use of sole green-gro a composted medium and green-gro amended with three inorganic fertilizer formulations in the oil palm nursery were investigated. Butt development, number of fronds per seedling, seedling height, dry weight of seedlings and leaf nutrient concentration of the seedlings were measured. The growth performance of oil palm seedlings planted in sole green-gro (control) compared well with seedlings planted in any of the amended green-gro. Assessment of dry matter production of the seedlings showed that sole green-gro and G-Niphomag produced higher dry weight than G-Polyfeed and G-PolyMag. The measured leaf nutrients showed varying levels of optimality for the various treatments. Green-gro and G-Niphomag has the prospect for use as growth medium to raise oil palm seedlings in the nursery.
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