Effect of Moisture Stress on Growth and Dry Matter Content, Total Biomass of Physic Nut ( Jatropha Curcas )

Muhammad; Z.; Atiku; M.; Mansur M.A.; Ambursa; A.S.; Abdulrahman; A.; Salisu; I.A.; Wele H. K; F.U. Zogirma

doi:10.56201/ijaes.vol.12.no7.2026.pg153.157

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Effect of Moisture Stress on Growth and Dry Matter Content, Total Biomass of Physic Nut ( Jatropha Curcas )

Muhammad, Z., Atiku, M., Mansur M.A., Ambursa, A.S., Abdulrahman, A., Salisu, I.A., Wele H. K , F.U. Zogirma

Abstract

Optimizing nursery irrigation regimes is critical for producing high-quality Jatropha curcas L. seedlings capable of surviving transplant shock in semi-arid environments. While J. curcas is renowned for drought tolerance, specific water requirements during the establishment phase remain poorly quantified, often leading to inefficient water use or suboptimal seedling vigor. This study evaluated five watering frequencies—daily (TRT1), every two days (TRT2), every three days (TRT3), weekly (TRT4), and biweekly (TRT5)—on seedling growth and biomass over 16 weeks using a Complete Randomized Design (n=5 replications). Contrary to conventional assumptions, daily watering was suboptimal; TRT3 consistently produced superior outcomes across all morphometric and biomass parameters. Seedlings under TRT3 attained maximum plant height (58.6 cm), leaf number (17.2), stem diameter (3.02 mm), and total dry biomass (21.2 g). Daily watering (TRT1) resulted in a 27% reduction in total dry biomass compared to TRT3, likely due to hypoxic root conditions, while severe stress (TRT5) caused a catastrophic 70% biomass loss. Statistical analysis confirmed watering regime explained 82–86% of phenotypic variation (R2 = 0.82–0.86; p < 0.001). These findings redefine nursery best practices for J. curcas , establishing that moderate deficit irrigation (every three days) optimizes physiological performance better than saturation, thereby enhancing water-use efficiency and seedling quality for afforestation projects.

Keywords

Jatropha curcas; irrigation scheduling; seedling quality; biomass allocation; nursery management.

References

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Effect of Moisture Stress on Growth and Dry Matter Content, Total Biomass of Physic Nut ( Jatropha Curcas )

Abstract

Keywords

References

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