Influences of Land use type and Dendrometric Variables on fruit production of Garcinia kola Heckel in Nigeria

Garcinia kola is a multipurpose tree tropical forest species commonly found in West and Central Africa. The species is known as a miracle plant because of the of all its parts and the potentials to improve local income generation of the farmers. Nonetheless, limited information is available on the productivity of the species. This study investigated the influence of land use type and tree dendrometrics on fruit production of G. kola in Nigeria. The study compared fruit and seed production at different land use types (protected and unprotected area). Data on dendrometric variables and fruit yields were collected in two fruiting seasons using 30 trees in each land use type. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result shows land use type had significant influence on fruits production. The mean number of fruits recorded for protected and non-protected areas were 969.43 and 630.76, respectively. The results on the dendromatrics variable on fruit production indicated that crown diameter was a significant factor that influenced G. kola fruit production. The results from a principal component analysis shows that an increase in plants height, seed weight, DBH, seed number, fruits number and leaf area tend to be associated with each other. The study concluded that protected area is more appropriate for cultivation the species while crown diameter produced more fruits and seeds than those with small crown diameter. Domestication of G. kola should be encouraged in protected areas if increase fruits production of G. kola in is desired.