Table 3.

Shoot growth, trunk diameter (at 130 cm), plant height, average area of one leaf, leaf number per plant, total leaf area per plant, leaf mass per area (LMA), weight of the pruning material after pruning all branches attached in the lowest 2 m of the stem, net photosynthesis (Pn) of the whole canopy, and leaf greenness index of elm trees growing with no mulch or with either 5 cm or 10 cm mulch layer composed of a mix of green material and kitchen wastes. Different letters within the same row indicate significant differences among treatments at P < 0.01 using Tukey’s HSD test.

ParameterYearTreatment
Control5 cm layer10 cm layer
Shoot elongation (cm)1st year52.5 b80.8 a82.9 a
2nd year44.11 b67.77 a71.02 a
3rd year31.37 b38.83 ab45.37 a
Trunk diameter at 130 cm1st year1.4 c1.7 b2.1 a
2nd year3.42 b3.91 b4.42 a
3rd year4.95 c5.59 b6.37 a
Plant height (m)1st year3.40 c4.34 ab4.65 a
2nd year5.24 c5.77 b6.23 a
Leaf area (cm)1st year28.61 a28.72 a31.96 a
2nd year31.07 a31.34 a33.23 a
3rd year28.46 a30.39 a31.53 a
Leaf number/plant1st year344.82 b376.96 b586.58 a
Total leaf area/plant (m2)1st year0.98 b1.08 b1.87 a
LMA (g/m2)1st year84.9 a94.7 a99.9 a
2nd year79 a75 a77 a
3rd year113.7 a113.9 a115.6 a
Pruning weight (g)2nd year228.77 b467.62 a484.68 a
Pn on whole plant basis (g hour−1)1st year0.42 b0.45 b0.67 a
Leaf greenness index (SPAD units)1st year39.8 b44.4 a45.7 a
2nd year47.2 b50.0 a50.1 a
3rd year49.7 a48.4 a50.0 a