1. Noor Shaila Sarmin 1,2*, Md. Main Uddin Miah 2 and Mohd Hasmadi Ismail 1 1 Department of Forest Production, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Department of Agroforestry and Environment, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh *Corresponding author: Noor Shaila Sarmin; Email: noorshaila01@gmail.com Department of Forest Production, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Table 1: Seedling height, collar diameter and leaf number of four MPTs as influenced by growth containers In a column, figure having the similar letter (s) or without letter (s) do not differ significantly as per DMRT Table 1: Seedling height, collar diameter and leaf number of four MPTs as influenced by growth containers In a column, figure having the similar letter (s) or without letter (s) do not differ significantly as per DMRT Multipurpose tree species (MPTs) provides many functions both as productive and protective. Gliricidia sepium, Delonix regia, Swietenia macrophylla and Terminalia arjuna are important MPTs. There is a demand of these fast growing MPTs in any plantation programs all over the world. So, in recent years the interest for producing quality seedlings by improved and modern nursery technique has increased [1]. Various growth containers are used for growing this species in nursery conditions [2] and poly bags are widely used for its light weight, low price, durability and availability. This experiment was carried out to compare growth performance of aforementioned four multipurpose tree species under nursery conditions. Introduction The study was carried in the nursery of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Bangladesh from May to October, 2012. The experiment was used a RCBD sampling with three replications. The containers were poly bag, gunny bag, earthen pot and bare rooted. Tree species were Gliricidia sepium, Delonix regia, Swietenia macrophylla and Terminalia arjuna. Potting soils were prepared as cowdung:soil = 1:2 and container size was 23cm ×15cm for each [3]. Healthy seeds for each tree species were collected from BSMRAU farm and then treated with hot water for 3 minutes followed by soaking in cold water for 12 hrs. 3 seeds were sown per container. After germination 1 healthy seedling was kept. Data for seedling ht (cm), collar diameter (mm) and leaf number was recorded. Root, stem and leaf fresh and dry weight was measured for biomass study. Data were analyzed by using MSTAT software and the means were compared using the Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Materials and Methods Results Treatment combination Seedling height (cm)Collar diameter (mm)Leaf number 45 DAS90 DAS180 DAS45 DAS90 DAS180 DAS45 DAS90 DAS180 DAS G sepium-bare rooted36.20ª145.7a263.0a8.05 b16.91 b36.18a12.55e38.13d100.5e G sepium-gunny bag31.07b119.3c240.7b7.52 b17.07 b24.80cd11.7fg37.73d92.33 f G sepium-poly bag31.93 b130.0b261.0a8.70 a19.36 a27.90 b11.1 g39.27d127.2d G sepium-earthen pot26.07c103.3d187.5b6.90 c15.50 c23.40de7.593 i33.20e96.20 f D regia-bare rooted22.47 d103.3d187.3c7.56 b17.01 b22.13 e0.109k15.77g21.67 j D regia-gunny bag23.39 d85.33e167.7d7.92 b19.21 a27.00bc13.73c21.08 f22.1ij D regia-poly bag13.84 f70.33 f151.0e6.00 d17.15 b25.47cd15.1ab23.82 f26.06 i D regia-earthen pot10.0gh13.33 l26.67k4.53e8.56 f10.00 h12.3ef9.33 h9.33 l T arjuna-bare rooted22.27d59.53g117 f3.75 f9.71 e16.73 f14.73b118.2a320.0b T arjuna-gunny bag19.73f57.0g115.0 f3.47 f9.34 e14.07 g13.2cd94.47b362.7a T arjuna-poly bag14.77 f46.67h96.67g2.74 g8.23 f26.7bc12.42e78.67c293.5c T arjuna- earthen pot11.42g22.93 j45.33 i2.25 g13.12 d6.47 i6.33 j21.87 f46.00g S mahagoni-bare rooted13.67 f30.00 i57.0 h2.47 g4.07 h7.33 i15.0 b14.42g16.67k S mahagoni-gunny bag9.58 h20.17jk43.33 i1.62 h5.53 g7.33 i15.67a11.17h40.56h S mahagoni -poly bag8.81 h19.47k34.33 j1.26 hi4.23 h5.97 i12.7de9.78 h19.9 jk S mahagoni -earthen pot5.33 i10.3m13.33 l0.93 i1.17 i2.33 j9.77 h3.000 i5.87 l CV%5.282.582.086.98%3.14 %7.56%3.52%5.10%2.41% LSD1.6552.7854.4680.5510.6082.2350.6313.0314.024 Figure 1(a,b): Biomass productivity (fresh weight and dry weight) of four MPTs after 6 months  G sepium performed better in terms of plant height, collar diameter, and biomass production followed by D regia, T arjuna and S mahagoni.  Gunny bag produced maximum biomass for all the treatments. However earthen pots performance was poor for all the species and all the sampling dates.  For local plantation program seedlings can be grown in gunny bag instead of poly bag.  G sepium performed better in terms of plant height, collar diameter, and biomass production followed by D regia, T arjuna and S mahagoni.  Gunny bag produced maximum biomass for all the treatments. However earthen pots performance was poor for all the species and all the sampling dates.  For local plantation program seedlings can be grown in gunny bag instead of poly bag. Conclusions Acknowledgement The author is grateful to the Department of Agroforestry and Environment, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) for funding for the study. Acknowledgement The author is grateful to the Department of Agroforestry and Environment, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) for funding for the study. [1] Gera, M. and Ginwal, H.S. 2002. Preliminary observations on field trial of root trainer raised seedlings. The Ind. Forester, 128(1): 19-26. [2] Dhiman, R.C. and Sood, S.D. 1994. Trials with different root trainers and potting medial. In: Proc Seminar on root trainer seedling production system (K. Subramanian and M. Tha, eds.). Pune, 6: 35-39. [3] Ferdouse, N., Jabbar, F., Hossain, M.K. and Hoque, A.T.M.R. 2010. Comparative growth performance of Leucaena leucocephala seedlings raised in nursery bed, polybag and root trainers. In: Proc. of International Conference on Environmental Aspects of Bangladesh (ICEAB10), Japan. Sept. pp(65-68) [1] Gera, M. and Ginwal, H.S. 2002. Preliminary observations on field trial of root trainer raised seedlings. The Ind. Forester, 128(1): 19-26. [2] Dhiman, R.C. and Sood, S.D. 1994. Trials with different root trainers and potting medial. In: Proc Seminar on root trainer seedling production system (K. Subramanian and M. Tha, eds.). Pune, 6: 35-39. [3] Ferdouse, N., Jabbar, F., Hossain, M.K. and Hoque, A.T.M.R. 2010. Comparative growth performance of Leucaena leucocephala seedlings raised in nursery bed, polybag and root trainers. In: Proc. of International Conference on Environmental Aspects of Bangladesh (ICEAB10), Japan. Sept. pp(65-68) References