Root anatomy of two Ficus Carica varieties as affected by different planting medium

• Main Authors: Che Amri, Che Nurul Aini, Shahari, Rozilawati, Nik Rusmadi, Nik Nadira Nazua
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Noor Publishing 2021
• Subjects: S Agriculture (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/101428/1/101428_Root%20anatomy%20of%20two%20Ficus%20Carica%20varieties%20as%20affected%20by%20different%20planting%20medium.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/101428/

ABSTRACT Ficus L. is classified under the genus in Moraceae family which is known as one of the largest genera of angiosperms with more than 800 species of trees, shrubs, or climbers in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. Since Ficus is known due to its edible fruits, they are acknowledged as the potential crop that can be commercialized especially in Malaysia. Ficus carica L. or Fig are referred to as one of the introduced crops in Malaysia. However, the information on its adaptability and agronomic practices is still lacking. Thus, this study aims to identify and describe the root anatomy of two F. carica varieties as affected by different planting mediums. Two selected F. carica varieties were used in this study which is F. carica cv. BTM6 and F. carica cv. TGF. This experiment was done at Glasshouse Nursery Complex (GNC), IIUM, Kuantan. Four different combinations of peat, topsoil, and sand were used as planting mediums. The root anatomical structure was prepared by using the basic histology technique. The characters were observed under the light microscope and analyze using LAS EZ software. The findings showed the planting medium gives the effect on primary, secondary, and tertiary root anatomical characters. The presence of peat moss promotes the highest in length and diameter of primary, secondary, and tertiary roots. Based on this study, the usage of 25 % sand: 25 % topsoil: 25 % peat moss: 25 % coco peat (M1), and 25 % sand: 50 % peat moss: 25 % topsoil (M2) was suggested to give the enhance of the performance for the root development of species studied