Planting Methods and Number of Buds of Setts on Sprouting, Growth and Productivity of Vegetative Propagated Crops: A Review

Ever increasing demand for food and fodder due to growing population and livestock necessitates the urgency to improve productivity of the fodder crops. In this context, the concept of vegetative propagation technologies serves as an important tool for higher productivity. Conventionally, crops such as sugarcane, cassava, bajra napier hybrid grass and napier grass were cultivated by stem cuttings. This depends heavily on the quality of planting material and their availability. It is a huge barrier for the cultivation of fodder grass as the quality of planting material influences the sprouting, establishment, growth, tillering and fodder yield of grasses and also the higher requirement of planting material increases the overall cost of cultivation. Therefore, a more robust approach needs to be developed to address these limitations. Normally propagation by vegetative means assumes importance when desirable biotypes need to be multiplied in a short span of time. Also a suitable method of planting and number of buds reduce the cost of cultivation as well as transportation. Similarly one and two budded setts are ideal for optimum germination compared to larger seed pieces. Horizontal planting of stem cuttings is the most practical approach which increased sprouting and yield. Based on this ideology this paper reviews the various aspects of influence of planting methods and number of buds by vegetative propagated setts on sprouting, growth and productivity of fodder grasses.

The Growth of Seriatopora hystrix (Dana, 1846) Transplant with Differences of Fragments Size and Planting Position

Transplantation of coral reefs requires sufficient fragments but must still ensure the sustainability of coral donors. This research aimed to know the survival rate and growth rate of transplant corals with different fragment sizes and planting positions and to determine the most effective and efficient transplantation methods of the Seriatopora hystrix. The research was conducted from January to April 2016 in Serangan Island waters Denpasar Bali (1-2 m depth). The method used was a field experiment with variations of planting position (vertical, horizontal) and fragment sizes (3, 5, 7 cm). The results showed a high survival rate (98.3%) of the transplanted S. hystrix with planting position and fragment sizes variation. The variation of planting position and fragment sizes were significantly affected the length growth rate of the S. hystrix (p <0.05). The vertical planting position showed better growth compared to the horizontal planting position. The transplantation of coral with initial fragment sizes of 5 and 7 cm showed a higher growth rate than the fragment size of 3 cm. However, statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between initial fragment sizes of 5 and 7 cm. Therefore, this study demonstrated the most effective and efficient for S. hystrix transplantation showed in the vertical position with the initial fragment size of 5 cm.Key words: coral bleaching, initial fragment, tropical, zooxanthellae

PREFERENSI PERTUMBUHAN BIBIT GEMBILI [Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill] ASAL BAHAN TANAM DAN TEKNIK PENANAMAN BERBEDA

Lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burkill) tubers have two important roles in conventional cultivation, as the food as well as the propagation material. The stem cuttings technique is reported can not produce tubers, while micropropagation is less efficient due to the need of large capital, experts, and specific tools. The other hand, farmers are less interested in cultivating this commodity. It has been reported that mini tuber sett can be used for propagation, but it has not been able to explain the growth preferences in each part of the tuber and its effect on yield. The research aims to provide information about the growth preference of lesser yam seedlings from different planting materials and planting techniques and their effects on yields. The research was carried out in Research Center for Biology, LIPI, Cibinong. The experiment was arranged based on split plots with tubers (apical and basal parts) as the main plot and planting position (vertical and horizontal) as subplots. Each treatment was replicated 3 times, with 5 samples for each replication. The results revealed that the apical part produced better shoots and roots than the basal section. The apical dominance of the lesser yam tuber was very high. It is herefore buds that form in the apical tended to grow faster. This section also produced tuber with a better character. With this information, farmers recommended to use planting materials from the apical part of the tuber with horizontal planting position.