Root Growth Potential of Antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi) in a Clay Soil of Arakan Cotabato Philippines

The study aimed to determine the relationship between root growth and morphological growth characteristics of one-year old Antipolo trees planted in the ecological garden of the Forestry Department, Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology, Doroluman Arakan Cotabato.

Ten trees were uprooted and gathered data on root growth potential such as number of first order lateral roots (FOLR), primary root diameter and length. Morphological growth characteristics such as stem diameter, stem height, number of leaves and basal area were also taken.

Findings reveals that the size of primary roots significantly related to number of leaves, stem height, diameter and basal area. The root growth has significant influence on the number of leaves and plant height and found out the size of the primary roots to be the predictor of the morphological growth of the one-year Antipolo trees. On the root/shoot ratio, it reveals an average 0.16 root biomass per 1 unit shoot or aboveground biomass of the tree species and found stem diameter as significant predictor of aboveground biomass, indicating that the diameter of an stem can be used to estimate aboveground biomass. Manifesting also the importance of root size in judging the performance of the tree that can be seen through stem height and number of leaves of the specific trees.