Abstract
To examine the effects of soil types [organic (OS) and mineral (MS) soils] and water regimes [W1: waterlogged, W2: making 10 holes (diameter: 1 cm) at even distances at the mid-height of the pot, and W3: making 5 holes of the same size at the bottom of the pot] on the early growth of sago palm seedlings, two pot experiments were conducted in Lalomasara, near Abelisawa village, District of Pohara Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia from November 2006 to September 2007. The seedlings were grown under natural (nonprotected rainfall) conditions, and watering was done at least once every day. The soil water content was higher in OS than in MS and in the order of W1 > W2 > W3 in both type soils. The results showed few interaction effects of the two factors in the shoot and root growth and the macroelement uptake. The soil types had a lesser effect on the growth of seedlings than the water regimes, although the physicochemical properties of the soils were remarkably different. The water regimes affected the shoot base diameter significantly and tended to be larger, in the order of W1 > W2 > W3 plot, although other shoot growth parameters were not significantly affected by them. On the other hand, root growth was more affected by the water regimes than shoot growth, and a higher number of large roots (LR: > 5 mm in diameter) were observed in the W1 plot than in the W2 and W3 plots. The total LR length, the numbers of total medium-sized roots (MR: 2-5 mm in diameter) and upward roots of medium-sized roots (UR-MR) tended to be higher in the order of W1 > W2 > W3 plot. As a result, a higher root dry weight and shoot / root dry weight ratio were observed in the order of W1 > W2 > W3 and W3 > W2 > W1, respectively. The seedlings with a thicker base diameter of the shoot tended to have a longer total LR and a higher number of UR-MR.
https://ror.org/02j4mf075 
