Assessment of propagation methods on Oilferous plant species with potential for biodiesel production

The need for alternative fuel contributes to identification of new plant species whose propagation methods may be unknown. This study assessed the propagation methods appropriate for six (6) non- edible oil plant species with potential for biodiesel production. The assessment was based on investigating seed germination capacity, regenerative ability of the stem cuttings and seedling growth rate of the selected plant species. Split plot experiment under complete randomized design (CRD) was adopted for the experiments. Each of the species was replicated 4 times and each pot received 10 seeds. For the cuttings experiment, 5 cuttings of the same species measuring 30 cm long were inserted into the media in each pot to the depth of at least one node. One replicate was set in a non- mist propagator (closed method) while the other three replicates were set in the open air for comparing performance. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) from Instant program was used to test for the significance of all the treatments while Tukey-Kramer Multiple Comparisons test was used to test the differences between treatment means at P= 1% and 5%. Pearson from SPSS program was used to summarize the findings. Propagation using seeds showed that, those species with high germination energy had also high germination percentage. Seedling growth height showed that, Telfairiapedata performed significantly better in all soil types, Jatrophacurcas performed poorly in almost all soil types except in loam soil, Ricinuscommunis and Excoecariabussei growth were relatively average. In vegetative propagation, Jatrophacurcas rooted in non-mist and nursery pots, Telfairiapedata rooted only in the nursery pots, Excoecariabussei sprouted in both methods but did not root at all, Croton macrostachyus, Croton megalocarpus and Ricinuscommunis neither sprouted nor rooted. etc Based on propagation ability and growth performance; multiplication by seeds of Telfairiapedata, Ricinuscommunis and Excoecariabussei was found ideal, while both seeds and cuttings worked well for Telfairiapedata. Further studies are needed to assess regeneration potential of croton and other difficult oil plant species using other vegetative methods e.g. hard and semi-hard stem cuttings, rooting hormones, layering