Abundance and flower utilisation of Ficus deltoidea (Moraceae) in different Malaysian oil palm plantations
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Abstract
Ficus deltoidea (Moraceae) is a common dioecious fig tree in Malaysian oil palm plantations. These plants are routinely cleared in commercial plantations. In this study, the distribution and flower utilisation of F. deltoidea from var. angustifolia, var. deltoidea, and var. trengganuensis from five oil palm plantations were determined from January to September 2017. The highest abundance of F. deltoidea per palm tree was recorded at Batu Pahat (1.67 ± 0.23) followed by Tembila (0.68 ± 0.11), and the least at Changkat Lobak plantation (0.38 ± 0.07). A significant difference in the numbers of flowers and flower utilisation across different varieties of F. deltoidea among five study sites. For the male figs, var. trengganuensis had the highest numbers of flowers and fig wasps produced while var. angustifolia recorded the lowest for both. The highest percentage of fig wasps produced was from var. deltoidea (63.67 ± 6.07%) while the lowest percentage was recorded from var. trengganuensis (36.23 ± 3.37%). Similar record was found in female, as var. trengganuensis had the highest numbers of flowers and seeds produced. However, the highest and lowest percentages of seed production were from var. angustifolia at Dengkil (90.05 ± 1.71%) and Changkat Lobak (79.25 ± 23.61%), respectively. In conclusion, the figs from different varieties of F. deltoidea showed a high degree of variation in terms of distribution, flower numbers, and reproductive outputs among three different varieties. F. deltoidea is considered as a valuable epiphyte because it produces fruits all year round may provide figs for frugivores.
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