Despite the wide distribution of natural stands of Acacia senegal in Ethiopia, commercial exploitation of gum arabic is con- strained by lack of tapping and development techniques. We evaluated the gum arabic yield fr...Despite the wide distribution of natural stands of Acacia senegal in Ethiopia, commercial exploitation of gum arabic is con- strained by lack of tapping and development techniques. We evaluated the gum arabic yield from natural stands of A. senegal and the growth of 6 provenances in different parts of the country. For the gum yield evalua- tion from natural stands, four tapping positions and three tapping seasons were tested in a factorial RCB design. The second experiment in Metema evaluated survival and growth of six provenances. A. senegal trees in natural stands respond well to tapping if tapped during the appropriate season and at the correct position on the tree. The mean gum yield did not vary significantly by tapping season (p=0.63). Higher mean yield was, however, collected from trees tapped in October (96 g.tree^-1 per two harvests). The mean yield differed significantly (p=0.009) between the tapping positions. Mean separation (ct=0.05) shows that trees tapped at mid stem gave higher yield (160 g.tree^-1 per two harvests). The interac- tion effect of tapping season and position was not significant. Higher mean yield ((70 ± 112) g.tree^-1) was recorded in mid October-mid stem in two harvests. The second experiment indicated statistically significant difference in mean survival (p=0.0298), height (p=0.000) and root col- lar diameter (RCD), (p=0.012) between the six provenances. Highest survival, height and root collar diameter growth was observed from Ab- derail provenance (100%, (148±11) era, (38±11) mm, respectively). We recommend October and mid-stem and branches as appropriate tapping season and position. We recommend planting of the Abderafi provenance for the study area due to its superior growth and survival. Our study contributes to the proper selection of provenances for plantation devel- opment and improved tapping technology for better production of gum arabic in the country.展开更多
基金financed by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
文摘Despite the wide distribution of natural stands of Acacia senegal in Ethiopia, commercial exploitation of gum arabic is con- strained by lack of tapping and development techniques. We evaluated the gum arabic yield from natural stands of A. senegal and the growth of 6 provenances in different parts of the country. For the gum yield evalua- tion from natural stands, four tapping positions and three tapping seasons were tested in a factorial RCB design. The second experiment in Metema evaluated survival and growth of six provenances. A. senegal trees in natural stands respond well to tapping if tapped during the appropriate season and at the correct position on the tree. The mean gum yield did not vary significantly by tapping season (p=0.63). Higher mean yield was, however, collected from trees tapped in October (96 g.tree^-1 per two harvests). The mean yield differed significantly (p=0.009) between the tapping positions. Mean separation (ct=0.05) shows that trees tapped at mid stem gave higher yield (160 g.tree^-1 per two harvests). The interac- tion effect of tapping season and position was not significant. Higher mean yield ((70 ± 112) g.tree^-1) was recorded in mid October-mid stem in two harvests. The second experiment indicated statistically significant difference in mean survival (p=0.0298), height (p=0.000) and root col- lar diameter (RCD), (p=0.012) between the six provenances. Highest survival, height and root collar diameter growth was observed from Ab- derail provenance (100%, (148±11) era, (38±11) mm, respectively). We recommend October and mid-stem and branches as appropriate tapping season and position. We recommend planting of the Abderafi provenance for the study area due to its superior growth and survival. Our study contributes to the proper selection of provenances for plantation devel- opment and improved tapping technology for better production of gum arabic in the country.