GROWING OF COMMERCIAL SYCAMORE OCCIDENTALIS IN SLT CENTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH
ABSTRACT
The growing of commercial sycamore plant(Platanus occidentalis) in SLT centre for agriculture and bioscience research in IMT Enugu was studied. The plant seedlings were obtained from horticulture garden in SLT botanical garden, IMT Enugu was studied. The pre-planting and post-planting operations were carried out appropriately on September 2014. Inspection, care and maintenance activities were carried out on the plants on weekly bases while the plants’ performances were observed and recorded for eight weeks. On the first week, stripes of pink colour were observed on the pre-existing leaves of the plants indicating the plants’ acclimatization to the new environment. The leaves turned lemon green on the second week while development of node on the stems were observed on the third week. Apical growth stage and meristems development stage were observed on the fourth and fifth week respectively while budding stage and petiole development stage were observed on the sixth and seventh week respectively with increment in stem length and leave diameter. The twig stage which is characterized by enlargement of stem, development of broadly- ovated leaves and continuous apical growth and increment of the nodes and the internodes were observed on the eightieth week. At this stage, the sycamore plants were found to be anatomically shaped and disease free with rapid in growth proving a successfully grown plants for bioscience researches.