Salak: species diversity and understanding their growth performance as an understory crop plant
2002
Salam I. | Mohd Yusuff A. | Mohamed Senawi M.T. | Hashim B.
There are seven Salacca species in the country but only three species are known to be cultivated. These are S. edulis (salak Indonesia), S.Glaberescens (Local salak) and S.conferta (kelubi). Twenty four salak accessions (fourteen from S.glaberescens and ten from S.edulis) have been selected, evaluated and maintained in the field genebank at MARDI station Jerangau, Terengganu. Under their natural habitat Salacca species thrive as under-story plant in the primary forest. Under cultivation, salak is usually grown under Glircidia species as shade trees. Salak is also intercropped with other agriculture crops such as rubber, coconut and fruit trees under agroforestry management. Given the circumstances, there is a need to understand the growth requirement of salak grown as an under-story crop plant. This study investigates the irradiance environment within rubber ecosystem was found to be about 20% and it varied seasonally and diurnally (14 to 36%) as compared to an open area. The size and denseness of the canopy of salak (S.glaberescens) trees that grew under rubber ecosystem was found to correlate with the degree of shade. Salak trees that were under heavy shade possessed darker green leaves with specific leaf weight values below 100 gm-2 while those trees growing at the edge-row, exposed to higher irradiance possessed pale green leaves with specific leaf weight greater then 100gm-2. The chlorophyll meter reading showed a negative correlation with the amount of light impinging on leaf surface as measured by PAR transmission ratio. Leaves of salak trees which were exposed to high irradiance showed `photoinhibition` to a certain degree as compared to those leaves from trees growing under low irradiance.
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