Pertanika 13(1), 9-15 (1990)

Growth of Sesbania rostrata on Different Components of TinTailings

O. RADZIAH and ZULKIFLI H. SHAMSUDDIN

Department of Soil Science,Faculty Agriculture,

Universiti Pertanian Malaysia43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

ABSTRAKDua kajian di ladang telah dijalankan untuk menilai tumbesaran Sesbania rostrata di kawasan tanah bekas lombongberpasir, lorn berpasir dan slimyang dirawat dengan baja tak organik, dan di kawasan berpasiryang ditambah dengancampuran organik. Baja tak organik diberipada kadar 30kgN, 90kg P2O5dan 120kg K2O ha'1. Campuran organikyang diguna terdiri daripada 50% sisa kering kilang kelapa sawit (SKKKS) dan tahi ayam pada jumlah kadarbersamaan 10 t ha'1. Pokok dituai selepas 24, 42 dan 63 hari penanaman. Keputusan menunjukkan tumbesaran S.rostrata yang terbaik ialah di atas tanah slim dan terbantut di atas tanah berpasir. Pemberian baja tak organikmeningkatkan tumbesaran pokok pada tanah slim dan lorn berpasir tetapi tidakpada tanah berpasir. Bahagian atas, akardan bintil pokok pada tanah berpasir yang ditambah dengan campuran organik didapati 29, 27, dan 2.5 kali lebih baikdaripadayang diberi baja tak organik. Tumbesaran pokok di tanah berpasir ini bersamaan dengan 56% bahagian atasdan 200% bahagian akar pokok ditanam di tanah slim dibekalkan dengan baja tak organik.

ABSTRACT

Two field experiments were conducted to evaluate the growth of Sesbania rostrata on sandy, sandy loam and slimecomponents of a tin tailing area treated with inorganic fertilizer, and on the sandy component amended with an organicmixture. Inorganic fertilizer was applied at a rate of 30 kg N, 90 kg P2O5 and 120 kg K2O ha"1. The organic mixtureused consisted of 50% palm oil mill cake (POMC) and 50% chicken dung at a total equivalent rate oflOt ha " ; . Plantswere harvested after 24, 42 and 63 days of growth. The results showed that S. rostrata grew best on the slime andpoorest on the sandy tailings. Inorganic fertilization increased plant growth on the slime and sandy loam but not on thesandy tailings. Plant tops, roots and nodules in sandy soil amended with organic mixture were 29, 27 and 2.5 times betterthan those with the inorganic fertilizer. Plant growth on sandy tailing was equivalent to 56% of plant tops and 200% ofroots from plants grown on slime supplied with inorganic fertilizers.

INTRODUCTION

Tin mining activities over the last 100 years inMalaysia have left large areas of tin tailingsunsuitable for agriculture. A large proportion ofthe area is composed of sandy soil with low waterholding capacity, high hydraulic conductivity,low nutrient status and poor structural stability(Lim et al. 1981). A typical exmining land isusually composed of sand and a mixture of silt andclay deposits usually referred as slime(Shamshuddin et al. 1986). Due to lack of profileand structural developments and the presence ofweatherable minerals, the tailings can beconsidered as Entisols. These tailings are

generally not suitable for crop production becauseof their poor physical and chemical properties.

Several methods have been used to improvetheir nutrient status and structure. Organicmatter amendment such as organic manuring hasbeen practised by most farmers so as to increasetheir fertility status and suitability for vegetableand fruit production (Tan and Khoo, 1981).Ploughing-in of suitable crops or green manuringis another possible method of improving the soil.Legumes are perhaps the best type of plant to beutilised for this purpose since it has the ability tofix atmospheric nitrogen when grown in soils withlow nitrogen content.

O. RADZIAH AND ZULKIFLI H. SHAMSUDDIN

Sesbania rostrata has been reported by Dreyfusand Dommergues (1981) as the most efficient N2

fixing plant due to its ability to form profusenodules both on the stems and roots whennodulated by Azorhizobium caulinodans (Dreyfus etaL 1988). The acetylene reduction activity (ARA;per plant was claimed to be about 600 (imoleC2H4 h"1 compared to the ARA of soybean whichranged from 14 to 120 |imole C2H4 h"1.

Previous studies have shown that S. rostratacan grow well on low-lying land or under water-logged conditions. Rinaudo et ai. (1982) andDreyfus et aL (1985) showed that this plant couldincrease the rice yield when grown in floodedpaddy land and later cut and incorporated intothe soil. However, the ability of the plant to growand survive in the drier upland soils particularlyon ex-mining land has not been previouslyevaluated. To test such a possibility, the followingexperiments were conducted to evaluate thegrowth of S. rostrata on sandy, sandy loam andslime tailings and to observe the growth of S.rostrata on the sandy fraction amended withorganic matter.

MATERIALS AND METHODSExperiment 1The objective of the first study was to evaluate thegrowth of S. rostrata on three different componentsof tin tailings, a consequence of gravel pumpmining, located in the Universiti PertanianMalaysia Farm, Serdang.

The three different components selectedwere sandy, sandy loam and slime tailings. Thephysical and chemical properties of the sites areshown in Table 1. Soil treatments applied were (i)unfertilized control and (ii) basal fertilization atthe rates of 30 kg N, 90 kg P2O5 and 120 kg K2Oha l as urea, triple superphosphate and muriateof potash, respectively. The experiment was a 3 x2 factorial, laid out in a completely randomizeddesign with four replicates.

The S. rostrata seeds were scarified withconcentrated sulphuric acid for 30 minutes andrapidly washed with distilled water in sixwashings. They were then soaked overnight intwo-day old Azorhizobium strain UPMR38 cul-ture and then sown in 2 x 1.8 m plots at 30 cmdistance between rows and 10 cm distancebetween plants.

TABLE 1Physico-chemical properties of tin tailings

Physico-chemicalproperty

Depth (cm)Sand (%)Silt (%)Clay (%)Organic C (%)Total N (%)

P(Mgg )K (cmol( + ) kg'1)Ca (cmol( + ) kg'1)Mg(cmol( + ) kg"1)pH (H2O)pH (KC1)

Sand

0-1595.3

0.74.00.200.025.00.010.310.025.74.7

Sandyloam

0-1587.90

7.84.30.360.022.40.010.170.024.83.9

Slime

0-1536.226.437.42.360.068,70.05

12.650.174.74.4

The plants were watered daily except onrainy days. Stem inoculation was carried out ondav 10, 14, 21 and 28. A forty-eight hour cultureof Azorhizobium strain UPMR37 was handsprayed luxuriously on the stem and shoot of eachplant. The Azorhizobium strains UPMR37 andUPMR38 were isolated from stem and rootnodules of uninoculated 5. rostrata plants grownon a paddy field at Beranang, Selangor. Bothazorhizobial strains were cultured on Glutamatemedium modified from nutrient solution ofDreyfus et aL (1985) (Table 2). Mulching withdried lalang {Imperata cylindrica) at the rate of3 t ha"1 was applied to reduce the high soiltemperature and loss of moisture throughevaporation from the soil surface (Lim et aL 1981).

TABLE 2

Glutamate medium for Azorhizobium strain UPMR37and Rhizobium strain UPMR38

Source

Glutamic acidK2HPO4

KH2PO4

MgSO4.7H2ONaClEDTA-Fe + 3.Na salt(NH4)2SO4

Yeast extractpH 6.8

Concentration (g L )

10.01.670.870.200.100.0041.05.0

10 PERTANIKA VOL. 13 NO. 1, 1990

GROWTH OF S. ROSTRATA ON DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF TIN TAILINGS

The plants were harvested after 24,42 and 63days of growth. Both tops and roots were oven-dried at 60°C for three days and their dry weightsdetermined. Root nodule fresh weight was alsodetermined at harvest.

Experiment 2The second experiment was conducted to observethe growth of S. rostrata on sandy tin tailingsamended with organic matter.

Soil treatments applied were (i) untreatedcontrol, (ii) inorganic fertilizer (NPK) applicati-on, (iii) organic matter application and (iv) bothNPK and organic matter application. The ratesof inorganic fertilizers used were similar to thosein Experiment 1. A mixture consisting of 50%palm oil mill cake (POMC) and 50% chickendung at a total equivalent rate of 10 t ha"1 wasused as the organic matter amendment. Thenutrient contents for both forms of organic matterare shown in Table 3. The organic matter wasthoroughly mixed with the top 20 cm of the tailingmanually and left for two weeks before planting.

The experiment was laid out in a completelyrandomized block design. Seed preparation,planting, stem inoculation, plant maintenanceand harvesting were carried out as in Experiment1.

Nutrient contents

Nutrient

N (%)P (%)Jv \ /o)

TABLE 3

of palm oil millchicken dung

POMC

2.000.353.32

RESULTS

cake (POMC) and

Chicken dung

4.308.702.94

Growth of S. rostrata on Tin Tailings.

In general, results from Experiment 1 showedslow growth of S. rostrata during the initial 3 weeksof planting; an increase in plant tops occurredafter 42 days {Fig. 1A,B). In the unfertilizedcontrol plots, plants grown on the slimecomponent produced significantly (P = 0.05)higher top dry weight after 42 and 63 days ofgrowth; the average weights after 63 days for theslime, sandy loam and sandy components were

3500, 200 and 200 mg plant"1, respectively (Fig.1A). A similar trend was observed in plots appliedwith inorganic fertilizers but the plants producedhigher weights {Fig. IB). Fertilization improvedplant growth on slime and sandy loam but not onthe sandy components. After 9 weeks of growth,plant top dry weight in the sandy loam and slimecomponents were 8 and 3 times greater than theirrespective unfertilized plots.

Root growth followed a similar pattern astop growth (Fig. IC, D). A significantly (P =0.05) higher root dry weight (1304 mg plant ~l)was obtained from the fertilized slime area.

All plants grown on the three soilcomponents produced root nodules (Fig. IE, F).The root nodule weight varied significantly (P =0.05) according to the tailing components; thehighest nodule fresh weight observed after 9 weekswas from the fertilized sandy tailing (Fig. IF).Stem nodulation, however, was not observed evenat the last harvest (9 weeks). Plants that were leftto grow on the same area outside the experimentalplots to observe the occurrence of stem nodules bynative rhizobia were found to produce very fewstem nodules even after 10 weeks of growth.Inoculation was unsuccessful probably due toeither the method of inoculation or the loss of theAzorhizobium culture during storage. The pressuredeveloped in the hand pump used for spraying theinoculum could have killed the Azorhizobium cells.In a subsequent experiment using a differentAzorhizobium culture, stem inoculation with asimple hand sprayer with no pumping mechanismwas found to successfully produce stem nodules onS. rostrata (Unpublished).

Effect of Organic Matter Amendment on Growth ofS. rostrata on Sandy Tin Tailings.In experiment 2, organic matter amendment ofthe sandy tailing markedly improved plantgrowth (Fig. 2). The application of an equivalentrate of 10 t ha"1 organic mixture to the sandy-tailing significantly (P = 0.05) increased dryweights of plant tops and roots, and weight of rootnodules. Amendment with organic matterproduced the highest top dry weight (6,000 mgplant'1) after 63 days of growth {Fig. 2A). Theaddition of organic matter together with the NPKfertilizer, however, managed to produce only40% of maximum top dry weight. Plants from the

PERTANIKA VOL. 13 NO. 1, 1990 11

O. RADZIAH AND ZULKIFL1 H. SHAMSUDDIN

12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

o -o Sando_ ^a Sandy loamA A Slime

Sand + NPKSandy loam + NPKSlime + NPK

C^.-.TV.-i.-Tflr.'.

t

21 4 2 63

Days

Fig. 1: Growth and nodulation <>/S. rostrata OH AY/^/, sandy ham andslimt iomfxmmls of fa Mingy with and without mineralfertilx

inorganic fertilizer treatment grew just as poorlyas those from the control plot.

Root development showed a similar trend asthe plant tops. The addition of organic mattersignificantly (P = 0.01) increased the root dryweight to a maximum of 2,500 mg plant * at 63days {Fig, 2B).

The application of organic matter alone orin combination with NPK fertilizer seemed topromote root nodule development. After 9 weeksof growth, higher root nodule fresh weight (330-

350 mg plant"l) was observed in both treatments(Fig.2C).

DISCUSSIONThe above results showed that growth oiS. rosiralawas affected by the soil conditions of the tintailings. The slime component which had highersilt and clay contents had more availablenutrients and moisture for root and shoot growthcompared to the sandy component (Table 1).

Fertilization with N, P and K increased plantgrowth on the sandy loam and slime but not on

12 PKRTANIKA VOL. 13 NO. I, 1990

GROWTH OF S. ROSTRATA ON DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF TIN TAILINGS

t 4000

IA £ 3 O O °

2OO0

o" 1000

0

3000

7 * 2500

* 2000

B | '500•i

£ 1000

I 500

0

400

» 300

| "°C * 200

2 130

| 100

£ 50

K 0

o- -oA A

D - -O

« •

ControlNPK

OM

NPK + OM

/

/

4C

p

/

• '

0

f

/

/

•

p"*

i—•Days

big. 2: Growth and nodulation of S. rostrala on sandy tailingsamended with organic and mineral fertilisers.

sandy tailings. The former two components withtheir higher clay contents could absorb and retainmore of the added nutrients required for plantgrowth. The high percentage of sand ( >95%) inthe sandy component probably promoted agreater loss of fertilizers through leaching.Similarly, Lim et al. (1981) observed thatsignificantly high amounts of nutrients wereleached through the sandy tin tailings whenapplied with compound fertilizers only.Furthermore, the low water holding capacity ofthis sandy tailing could have contributed to thepoor plant growth. Although root nodule weightwas highest in the fertilized sandy componentafter 63 days, this was not reflected in the plantgrowth; it could merely be a compensatory effectto overcome a possible decrease in specific

nitrogen fixing activity under adverse conditions(Keysei et al. 1979). Plant growth was notadversely affected by waterlogged conditions inthe fine textured slime component which usuallyoccurred during rainy weather. The saturated soilcondition might have promoted plant growthsince .9. rostrata was originally found in the wetareas of Africa (Dreyfus et al. 1985). The resultsindicate that with moderate fertilization andappropriate water management, S. rostrata couldbe grown on some areas of tin tailings with theexception of the sandy component. This findingincreases the potential for the plant to be grown asa green manure on tin tailing areas.

The application of organic matter improvedgrowth ofS, rostrata on the sandy tin tailings. Thenutrients in POMC 2% N, 0.4% P. 3.3% K andchicken dung (4.3% N, 8.7% P, 2.9% K) (Table3) and the organic properties had improved thenutrient status of the tailing and allowed thesenutrients to be released slowly thus reducing lossesthrough leaching. Plant tops in sandy tailing withorganic matter was 29 times better than thosewith NPK fertilizers (Fig. 2A) and was as high as56% of the best treatment with inorganicfertilizers in the 3 tin tailing components ie. slime(Fig. IB). Root dry weight in the sandy soil withorganic matter was 27 times better than that withNPK fertilizers (Fig. 2B) and was 2 times higherthan the best tin tailing components withinorganic fertilizers, ie. slime (Fig. ID). Rootdevelopment was improved and more nutrientswere absorbed for better top growth. Similarresults were obtained on sandy soils where theaddition of organic mixture1 containing POMCincreased growth ofS. rostrata Noriah, 1987 andpalm oil mill effluent (POME) increased the drymatter production of maize Xavier 1977). Theapplication of chicken dung to sandy tailing wasfound to be beneficial for growth of mungbeanand Brassica chunnsis (Lim et al. 1981 .

Improved plant growth with the addition oforganic matter could also be indirectly due to theimproved properties of the tailing. Other studieshave indicated that addition of POMC or POMEincreased the waterholding capacity, stabilizedthe soil surface temperature (Lim 1985) andincreased the microbial activities (Rokiah 1977)of sandy tin tailing.

A lower shoot/root ratio was observed forplants grown on sandy tailing amended with

PKRTANIKA VOL. 13 NO. 1. 1990 13

O. RADZIAH AND ZULKIFLI H. SHAMSUDDIN

organic matter compared to plants in fertilizedslime. This could probably be due to the relativelylower availability of water and nutrients in thesandy component which reduced the dry mailerproduction of shoots compared to roots (Russell1977). The slime component, which could retainmore moisture and nutrients, promoted higherproduction of plant shoots compared to roots.

A reduction in plant growth observed in thecombined organic matter and inorganic fertilizerstreatments was rather unusual. Palaniappan el al.(1983) indicated that addition of inorganicfertilizers together with POME increased thedecomposition and mineralization of POME, andconsequently released more nutrients during theearly period of plant growth. However, in thisstudy, the addition of inorganic fertilizers hadprobably increased the microbial populationleading to an increase in the mineralization of theorganic matter. The nutrients released could havebeen rapidly leached through the sandy mediumand rendered unavailable to the plants. Hi usplants were smaller than those treated withorganic matter alone in which the mineralizationof organic matter progressed at a slower rate.

The addition of organic matter also resultedin an increase in nodule fresh weight, probablydue to better nodule development and increasednodule numbers, indicative of greater growth andsurvival of the inoculated and indigenousAzorhizobium. The increase in nodule fresh weightin sandy tailing with organic matter was 2.5 timesbetter than in treatment with NPK fertilizers(Fig. 2C). More effective nodulation of cowpeawas also observed by Kasran (1986) in sandy soilamended with POMC.

CONCLUSION

Sesbania rostrata can be grown on the sandy loamand slime components of the tin tailings whenprovided with moderate amounts of inorganicfertilizers. Organic matter amendment improvedthe fertility status of the sandy tin tailingscompared to inorganic fertilizer application. Theapplication lOt ha~ l organic mixture consistingof equal weights of palm oil mill cake and chickendung increased growth of plant tops, roots andnodules by 29, 27 and 2.5 times compared toplants with inorganic fertilization. Plant growthon sandy soil was equivalent to 56% of plant tops

and 200% of roots from plants grown on slimesupplied with inorganic fertilizer.

REFERENCESDREYFUS, B. and Y. R. DOMMERGUES1981. Nitrogen-

fixing Nodules Induced by Rhizobium on the Stem ofthe Tropical Legume Sesbania rostrata. FEMSMicrobiology Letters. 10: 313-317.

DREYFUS, B., J.L. GARCIA, and M. GILLIS 1988.

Characterization of Azorhizobium caulinodan gen. nov.sp. nov., a Stem-nodulating Nitrogen FixingBacteria Isolated from Sesbania rostrata. Int. J . Syst.Bactenol. 38: 89-98.

DREYFUS, B., G. RiNAUDOand Y.R. DOMMERGUES

1985. Observations on the Use of Sesbania rostrata asGreen Manure in Paddy Fields. MIRCKYJ. 1: 111-121.

KASRAN, R. 1986. Effect of Palm Oil Mill Effluent(POME) and Ajinomoto Mill Effluent as OrganicFertilizer on Sandy Tin Tailing. UndergraduateThesis, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti PertanianMalaysia. Serdang.

KEYSER, H.H., D.N. Munns and J.S. HOHENBERG1979: Acid Tolerance of Rhizobia in Culture and inSymbiosis with Cowpea. SoilSci. Soc. Am. J. 43: 719-22.

LlM, K.H., L.M. Maene G.G. Maesschalck and W. H.WAN SULAIMAN, 1981. Reclamation of Tin Tai-

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LlM, K.H. 1985. Modification of Soil Climate throughthe Use of POME Sludge Cake for Vegetation ofSand Slopes, pp. 163-174. In Proc National Conferenceon Soil-Climate Relationships on Crop Production in

Malaysia, ed. Mok, C.K., Lim, K.H. and Azmi M.AMalaysian Soil Science Society, Kuala Lumpur.

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Palaniappan 1983. Land Application of Raw PalmOil Mill Effluent (POME). Studies on Leachingand Decomposition and Nutrient Release of theResidues pp. 180-221. In Proc. Sem. on L andApplication of Palm Oil and Rubber Factory Fffluents, ed.

K.H. Lim, B. Abu Talib and YC Poon MalaysianSoil Science Society, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia,Serdang.

RINAUDO, G., DREYFUS, B. and Y.R. DOMMERGUES.

1982. Influence of Sesbania rostrata Green-manure on

14 PERTANIKA VOL. 13 NO. 1, 1990

GROWTH OF S. ROSTRATA ON DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF TIN TAILINGS

the Nitrogen Content of Rice Crop and Soil. SoilBiology and Biochemistry. 15: 111-113.

ROKIAH, Y. 1977. Effect of Amended Sandy TinTailing on Microbial Activities and Growth ofGroundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and Ragi (Eleusinecoracana). Undergraduate Thesis. Faculty ofAgriculture, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia,Serdang.

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(Received 6 June, 1989)

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