Articles
The effect of phenological stages, pruning and harvesting time on vegetative growth (biomass yield) and antibacterial activity of Leucosidea sericea
Article number
1358_37
Pages
287 – 294
Language
English
Abstract
Leucosidea sericea (Oldwood) is an important medicinal plant used to treat various ailments due to its antimicrobial properties.
The growing interest for the material of this plant has led to the need to produce it commercially in order to provide uniform plant supply to the natural products industry.
However, production must be done in a way that reduces the invasive nature of L. sericea without compromising the quality and quantity of the material harvested.
The aim of the study, therefore, was to determine the effect of plant phenology, pruning and the time of harvest on vegetative growth (biomass), flowering and biological activity of L. sericea. Five three-year-old trees were used for the phenological study.
Four pruning treatments were applied: pinching the apical tip below the 5th leaf; pinching the apical tip and the tips of all the primary branches; pinching the apical tip and cutting the side branches leaving one node from the main stem and lastly cutting the tree one meter from ground level. Leucosidea sericea leaves were first collected in September during the first pruning.
Subsequently, harvests were made in December, March, and June with the last harvest in August being the second pruning.
For biological activity, leaf extracts of L. sericea were tested against Propionibacterium acnes. A micro-dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. Leucosidea sericea grows throughout the year with defined peaks of growth flushes, the trees flower from September to October.
Harvest time significantly affected the biomass.
Flowering was significantly affected by pruning techniques. Leucosidea sericea exhibited good activity against P. acnes.
The growing interest for the material of this plant has led to the need to produce it commercially in order to provide uniform plant supply to the natural products industry.
However, production must be done in a way that reduces the invasive nature of L. sericea without compromising the quality and quantity of the material harvested.
The aim of the study, therefore, was to determine the effect of plant phenology, pruning and the time of harvest on vegetative growth (biomass), flowering and biological activity of L. sericea. Five three-year-old trees were used for the phenological study.
Four pruning treatments were applied: pinching the apical tip below the 5th leaf; pinching the apical tip and the tips of all the primary branches; pinching the apical tip and cutting the side branches leaving one node from the main stem and lastly cutting the tree one meter from ground level. Leucosidea sericea leaves were first collected in September during the first pruning.
Subsequently, harvests were made in December, March, and June with the last harvest in August being the second pruning.
For biological activity, leaf extracts of L. sericea were tested against Propionibacterium acnes. A micro-dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. Leucosidea sericea grows throughout the year with defined peaks of growth flushes, the trees flower from September to October.
Harvest time significantly affected the biomass.
Flowering was significantly affected by pruning techniques. Leucosidea sericea exhibited good activity against P. acnes.
Authors
M.M. Mabusela, B. Matsiliza-Mlathi, R. Kleynhans, H. Araya
Keywords
biomass production, phenology, bioactivity, plant stress, Propionibacterium acnes
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