Effects of Trichoderma longibrachiatum (ngj167) and compost on early growth of Bougainvillea spectabilis

Abstract

Bougainvillea spectabilis is an ornamental plant grown in both temperate and tropical zones. They are primarily propagated by stem cuttings; however, difficulty in growth at early stages occurs routinely, causing barrier for its mass propagation. This study was conducted to study the effects of integrating compost with Trichoderma longibrachiatum (NGJ167), in improving the early growth of Bougainvillea spectabilis.  Trichoderma longibrachiatum (NGJ167) used for this purpose was obtained from the Bioscience Center, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. One hundred and twenty (120) pots were filled with 5 kg top soil each from an alfisol. Treatments included: Top soil as Control (C), Top soil inoculated with T. longibrachiatum (T), Top soil + compost at 5, 10 and 15 t ha^-1 as C1, C2, C3 respectively, Top soil inoculated with T. longibrachiatum + compost at 5, 10 and 15 t ha^-1 as C1T, C2T, C3T respectively. The eight treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) and replicated three times. Results indicated that integrated use of compost with Trichoderma significantly (P < 0.05) had higher growth values than the control. Higher plant height, stem diameter, number of branches and number of leaves, were recorded with the use of compost at 10 t ha^-1 compared to control. Compost with Trichoderma gave higher shoot dry weight compared to treatments of compost alone. In conclusion, use of compost alone or inoculated with Trichoderma had significant effect on early growth and development of Bougainvillea spectabilis.