Growth and development of a six-year-old Uapaca kirkiana provenance trial at Nauko Forest Reserve, Malawi

Abstract

A research trial of seven provenances of Uapaca kirkiana (six obtained locally and one Mozambican) was established in 1997 at Nauko in Malawi in order to evaluate their performance. At six years of age, there were significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences among provenances with respect to height and root collar diameter growth and number of branches. The Phalombe provenance was the most outstanding in terms of mean height (2.8m), mean root collar diameter (7.2cm) and mean number of branches (11 branches). There were no significant differences in crown diameter but the bulked provenance from Mozambique had the smallest mean (1.5m) crown width and that from Phalombe had the widest mean crown of 1.8m. However, it was still premature at the time of assessment to select the best provenances of U. kirkiana since the trees had not started producing flowers and viable fruits. The study is on-going with long-term monitoring of growth and phenology of the different provenances and families at the trial site.