ARTIFICIAL FLOWERING IN <em>TRIPLOCHITON</em> <em>SCLEROXYLON</em>

Abstract

Djagbletey GD, Ofori DA & Cobbinah JR. 2011. Artificial flowering in Triplochiton scleroxylon.
Triplochiton scleroxylon is an important indigenous tropical hardwood species in West Africa. Due to its erratic flowering cycles, seeds are not readily available on a year to year basis, posing considerable difficulty in plantation establishment. To ensure abundance and continuous supply of planting stock, various treatments to induce flowering on grafts and mature trees were tested. These included spraying of urea solution on leaves, bark ringing and soil drenching with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid solution. The studies were carried out in two agroecological zones in Ghana, namely, the dry and moist semi-deciduous ecozones. In the dry semideciduous ecozone, fruiting occurred from November–December 2005 in girdled (80%) and ungirdled (30%) trees whereas in the moist semi-deciduous ecozone there was less fruiting, i.e. girdled (40%) and ungirdled (0%) trees in the same period. In all plants (30), the region within 10 cm above and below the girdles were swollen four months after girdling. Soluble carbohydrate concentrations in the bark before flowering were higher above the girdle (8.5%) than below (6.0%). Leaf shedding and bud development were greatest in treatments with 50, 37.5 and 25% urea compared with 12.5 and 0% urea. The results suggest that T. scleroxylon can be artificially induced to flower.