Difference between revisions of "Calamus simplicifolius"

Stems clustered, climbing, to 50 m, 3-6 cm in diam. Leaf sheaths green with brown hairs, with densely arranged, yellowish, flattened, triangular, downward-pointing spines to 4 cm; ocreas absent; knees present; flagella absent; rachis to 2 m with 14-22 broadly lanceolate pinnae per side, these regularly arranged, tending to be irregular on younger leaves; middle pinnae 36-40 cm, 2-5 cm wide at mid-point, margins bristly; cirri to 1.5 m. Inflorescences to 1 m, not flagellate; inflorescence bracts tubular. Fruits yellowish, globose, to 3 × 2.3 cm.

Favorable soil for C. simplicifolius was mainly latosol, red earth, lateritic yellow soil, or yellow soil that was fertile and moist about 1m depth, with more than 2.0% organic matter content, and pH value of 5.0-6.5. Results showed that stem number and cane yield were only 50% and 67% respectively at the high altitude compared to lower part of the same hill of 11 year old plantation.

Seeds in moist sand bed germinated in 25-30 days, germination period lasted for 30-40 days. The seedlings with folded leaf were transplanted into polybags and raised in nursery for 10-12 months. Seedlings were 30-40 cm high at the time of field planting, with 4-5 leaves, 5-6 roots, longest root 25-30 cm, with 300-400 cm2 of leaf area.

C. simplicifolius grew slowly during early stages and new stems developed in 2-3 years after field planting. Stem length increased about 20 cm per month when temperature was more than 25°C but less than 10 cm, 0-15°C. Stem growth rate was positively correlated with temperature, correlation coefficient of 0.88.

Light was an important factor for seedling growth. Results indicated that height of C. simplicifolius seedlings, leaf area, biomass of stem and leaf, and total biomass varied with light intensity (Table 8). Relative sunshine of 20-50% was preferable for growth of seedlings.

Water supply for seedling growth was important. Height of seedling, leaf area and biomass varied greatly depending on water supplied and suitable quality required was 3-5 kg/m2 per day.

Proper fertilizer application improved seedling growth in both qualitative and quantitative terms[11-13]. Seedling height, leaf area, biomass accumulation showed positive correlation with quantity of fertilizer used, but excessive application retarded the seedling growth. Fertilizer with 1.3 g of urea, 2 g of calcium superphosphate and 2 g of potassium chloride per plant supported optimal growth.

Dampening off of seedlings of C. simplicifolius was the major disease in nursery, resulting in decay and death of seedlings. Over accumulation of water and/or bad aeration in sowing bed destroyed seedlings. Spraying 75% of chlorothalonil at 800-

1000 dilution once a week helped seedling growth. Pests harmful to C. simplicifolius seedlings were mainly Chondracris rosea, Cerataphis sp. and Sesamia inferens. The effective control measures included spraying 1:1000 dilution of oxidative dimethoate (40%), phosphate acetamide (40%), and/or dichorros (80%).

About 95-98% seedlings, one year old, of C. simplicifolius survived after field planting, and seedlings with poor rooting were less than 75%. They grew in the field much better and were used for plantation establishment.

Seedlings of C. simplicifolius distributed at random in forest performed better than those planted on open site. Seedlings needed shading at the early stage, so they were planted under trees. In site preparation, thinning of the forest, at an intensity of 30-40%, was necessary, as the rattan required sunlight. The site was cleared with wide strips and planting holes of 1200-1500 per ha and size of 50 × 50 × 40 cm. The canopy trees included Gmelina chinensis, Michelia macclurei, Casuarina equisetifolia and Pinus massoniana.

C. simplicifolius seedlings grew slowly during the first 2 years and there after the growth was fast. Some tending was necessary to improve shoot growth in the first three years after field planting. The operations included weed clearing, soil loosening, and canopy thinning. Fertilizer application periodically with 20-40 g of urea, 100-150 g of calcium superphosphate, and 150-180g of compound fertilizers per hole improved growth.

Conclusion: C. simplicifolius plantations were established in south of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces. The favorable climate was rainfall more than 1500 mm, mean annual temperature more than 22°C, annual mean temperature above 14°C in the coldest month, nearly no dry season and no frost all the year around. The soil should be deep, fertile and moist. High temperature and humidity were essential for the growth of C. simplicifolius. The growth started in 2-3 years after field plantation, flowering in 5-6 years. The female plant flowered and fruited every year. The blooming peak was June, and fruits were available in mid December, got detached 50-60 days after maturity.

Fruits of C. simplicifolius are rich in carbohydrate, protein and other nutrients, and the rind and pulp was cleared to obtain the seed. The seeds were shade dried and strong light forbidden. Thousand seeds weight 850-900 g, moisture content 25-30%, and germination rate reached 65-85%. Storing seeds in wet accumulated sand was advantageous and methods outlined in this paper were proposed to popularize rattan growing among farmers and others.

Suitable light, water supply and fertilization improved leaf number, leaf area index, and rate of photosynthesis per plant. Relative light intensity was 20-50%. Water supply 3-5 kg/mm2 per day met the normal requirement of seedlings. Fertilization with urea 1.3 g, calcium superphosphate 2.0 g and potassium chloride 2.0 g per plant helped good growth. C. simplicifolius seedlings were planted in forest, with a density of 1200-1500 clumps/ha and 3-4 seedlings per hole. The forest where C. simplicifolius planted had good supporting trees, like Gmelina chinensis, Michelia maaclurei, Casuarina equisetifolia and Pinus massoniana, with light intensity of 30-40%. Management of C. simplicifolius plantations was profitable. Four harvests were made within 25 years, yield of canes reached 11349.0 kg/ha, net income 42939.86 Yuan/ha, internal return rate 12.12%, benefit/cost ratio 2.13, and investment recovery period with profit less than 10.3 years.

In natural forests of Jianfengling in Hainan, C. simplicifolius grew commonly along with dominant tree species of Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Magnoliaceae and Dipterocarpaceae. Also Daemonorops margaritae, Cryptocarya chinensis, Pinanga discolor, Psychotria rubra, Ilex memicylifolia, Lasianthus cyanocarpus and Mallotus hookerianus were common species along with Daemonorops margaritae.

There was slight variation in diameter of cane, and diameter almost equal between the upper and lower parts of the stem. In stem section density of fiber bundles in outer layer was greater, fiber proportion higher and outer fibers longer than those of the inner, size of vascular bundle and diameter of metaxylem vessel increased from the outer to the inner part.

Phenological characteristics: C. simplicifolius flowered and set fruits every year after 5-6 years of field planting. Pollination was of entomophilous type, mature plant developed 14-16 leaves per year and it took about 20-25 days for leaflets to unfold completely. The inflorescence, commonly 2-3 panicles per axis, appeared in late March or early April and bloomed during late May to middle June, some even in early July. Fruits matured during middle of November to late December and fell off naturally in February or March.

Fruit of C. simplicifolius is a fleshy drupe, with rich outer pulp. After collecting it was processed by rubbing the fruits to remove the skin and pulp and dried naturally, weight per thousand seeds 850-900 g, moisture content 25-30%, and germination rate in sand bed 65-85%. Fruits collected in December and sown in sand bed, did not germinate until March. Seeds stored for 3 months at moderately low temperature and high humidity germinated around 70%. Seeds stored at low temperature did not germinate. Seeds stored in wet sand beds germinated well.