Growth of Aloe ferox Mill. at selected sites in the Makana region of the Eastern Cape

Shackleton, Charlie M; Gambiza, James

Title: Growth of Aloe ferox Mill. at selected sites in the Makana region of the Eastern Cape
Creator: Shackleton, Charlie M
Creator: Gambiza, James
Date Issued: 2007
Date: 2007
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6654
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007068
Description: There is widespread harvesting of the leaves of Aloe ferox to supply bitters and gel for cosmetic and health products. Government and private agencies are interested in expanding the industry as a means of providing income for poor rural communities. With the growing interest in the commercial use of A. ferox it is important that harvesting programmes are based on an adequate understanding of the ecology and productivity of the species, which will underpin estimates of possible sustainable yields. In this paper we report mean annual growth rates of 283 A. ferox plants (at six sites) during the 2005/2006 season. Growth was variable across sites and plant height. In terms of sites, the mean height growth ranged between 1.7 cm per plant per year at site 4 and 4.6 cm at site 2. The mean height increment across all sites and plants was 2.8 ± 0.2 cm. Plant height had a strong effect on annual increment with small plants (< 6 cm) more than doubling their height in the 12 month period, whereas plants taller than 2 m grew by approximately 1% over the year. Across the five unburnt sites, the mean standing stock of leaves grew by two per plant. The proportion of plants flowering increased progressively with plant height. Most (90%) of the plants that flowered in 2005 did so again in 2006.
Format: 12 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Shackleton, C.M. and Gambiza, J. (2007) Growth of Aloe ferox Mill. at selected sites in the Makana region of the Eastern Cape. South African Journal of Botany, 73 (2). pp. 266-269. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2006.12.003

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RU Department of Environmental Science

Gambiza, James (Prof)

Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)

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