Effect of Sewage Effluent Irrigation Regimes on Wood Quality of Prosopis juliflora Grown in Riyadh Region PDF

Keywords

agriculture, Prosopis juliflora, King Saud University

Abstract

The effect of sewage effluent water supply regimes on wood quality was investigated in Prosopis juliflora (Sw) DC. The tree plantation was established for four years on a sandy loam soil in the Agricultural Experiments Station of King Saud University at Deirab near Riyadh. Felled trees were sampled for wood density, ring width, earlywood percent, fiber length, and chemical composition. Trees grown on sites receiving irrigation at 70% of the available soil moisture (ASM) formed wider annual rings with higher earlywood percent, produced higher density wood and longer earlywood fibers than trees grown on 30% ASM site. Average holocellulose, alpha-cellulose and pentosans contents were higher in wetter sites at 70% ASM than in drier sites (88.36% vs. 84.9%, 48.10% vs. 41.50%, and 20% vs. 17.5%, respectively). Alcohol-benzene solubles wood extractives were higher in the trees grown on dry sites than in those grown on wet sites (7.8% vs. 4.9%). Results of this study should be of value in planning afforestation programs using Prosopis juliflora in similar regions.