Characteristics of Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) Suckers from Various Mother Palms at Different Growth Stages in Tebing Tinggi Island, Riau, Indonesia

The vegetative growth appearance, pith nutrient contents including starch and total sugar contents as well as the subsequent establishment of suckers from various mother palms at different growth stages were investigated. We observed that suckers collected from mother palms at the near flowering and young trunk growth stages in a garden established in the 1970s did not show any significant difference in their vegetative growth characteristics and pith nutrient contents. Nitrogen (2.1-24.4 mg g-1) and potassium (3.6-17.6 mg g-1) contents in the pith of suckers collected at both growth stages of the mother palm were higher than the calcium (0.4-2.5 mg g-1), phosphorus (0.5-2.3 mg g-1) and magnesium (0.2-1.5 mg g-1) contents. Starch and total sugar contents ranged from 26.6 to 64.8 % and 4.4 to 12.9 % in the palms at the near flowering and young trunk growth stages, respectively. No significant differences between them were also observed in the survival rate and newly emerged vegetative organs after establishment for 2.5 months in the nursery, except for the number of newly emerged roots. Suckers from mother palms at the young trunk growth stage were able to show a high survival rate of 73.3 %, although this value was slightly lower than that of the suckers from mother palms approaching the flowering stage (83.3 %). Based on these results, it was concluded that suckers collected from young mother palms in a mature garden where harvest was frequently performed since new planting, could be used as planting materials in addition to those that emerged from mother palms at the near flowering stage.