ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF SOME MEDICINAL TREE SPECIES ON TWO DEGRADED LANDS AND IN AN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM IN KERALA, INDIA

Survival and growth of seedlings of three medicinal trees species, viz. Aegle marínelos (Rutaceae), Caesalpinia sappan (Ceasalpiniaceae) and Pterocarpus santalinus (Papilionaceae), were studied on two degraded lands and in a coconut-based agroforestry system in Thrissur and Palakkad districts of Kerala, India. Seedling survival was in general high for all the three species (63-94%). The best growth was recorded in C. sappan followed by A. marmelos and P. santalinus. Seedlings of sappan and A. marmelos showed better growth in the coconut garden than in the degraded sites, whereas P. santalinus did not show any significant difference in growth in the three sites. Among the three species, highest shoot: root ratio was recorded for C. sappan. Shoot: root ratio of seedlings of all the species was consistently lower on the degraded sites than in the coconut garden. Kemandirian dan pertumbuhan anak benih tiga spesies pokok ubatan iaitu Aegle marmelos (Rutaceae), Caesalpinia sappan (Caesalpiniaceae) dan Pterocarpus santalinus (Papilionaceae) di dua tanah usang dan sistem perhutanan tani yang berasaskan kelapa dikaji di daerah Thrissur dan daerah Palakkad di Kerala, India. Kemandirian anak benih pada umumnya adalah tinggi bagi ketiga-tiga spesies (63-94%). Pertumbuhan terbaik dicatatkan di dalam C. sappan diikuti oleh A. marínelos P. santalinus. Anak benih sappan dan A. marmelos menunjukkan pertumbuhan yang lebih baik di dalam tapak kebun kelapa berbanding dengan tapak tanah usang, manakala P. santalinus tidak menunjukkan perbezaan yang bererti dalam pertumbuhan di ketiga-tiga tapak. Antara ketiga-tiga spesies, nisbah pucuk: akar anak benih di dalam kesemua spesies tersebut adalah lebih rendah secara konsisten di tapak tanah usang berbanding dengan kebun kelapa.