Early growth of Syzygium tripinnatum (Blanco) Merr. seedlings inoculated with

The early growth of Syzygium tripinnatum (Blanco) Merr. seedlings applied with biofertilizer inoculants was evaluated under nursery condition at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, La Union, Philippines. This study generally aimed to recommend a biofertilizer inoculation protocol for S. tripinnatum seedlings for the production of its quality planting materials. Three treatments were used: T0- Uninoculated (Control), T1- Mycogroe, and T2- Mykovam. Results revealed that the height, diameter and root, shoot, and seedling dry weights of the seedlings were significantly improved when applied with biofertilizer inoculants, particularly Mykovam biofertilizer. However, no significant differences were observed among all treatments for the number of leaves, sturdiness quotient, and root-shoot ratio. Based on the seedling quality index, a significant result was observed in favor of the inoculated seedlings. Regardless of treatments, the sturdiness quotient was relatively higher than the acceptable standard value; while lower values were obtained for all seedlings in terms of root-shoot ratio. Therefore, S. tripinnatum seedlings may be susceptible to wind, drought, and cold, and have low absorption and storage capacity of water which could produce worse response in the field. However, early growth of S. tripinnatum seedlings will likely improve when applied with biofertilizer inoculants, particularly Mykovam and undergone preconditioning activities like hardening before out planting.