Spacing effects on relative growth rates of diameter, height and biomass production in Leucaena Leucocephala (Lam.)‎ de wit. before and after pruning

Abstract EN

Seedlings of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.

were planted in the field at the Agricultural Experiments Station of the College of Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October 1995.

The trees were planted at spacing of 0.70, 1.40 and 2.10 meter either between rows or between trees within row.

The trees were pruned after 18 months of planting.

The relative growth rates of both diameter and height increased with increasing the distance between trees but decreased with age.

Pruning increased the effects of both diameter and height growth on total above-ground biomass; with a larger contribution of diameter particularly in both medium and wide spacing regimes.