Effects of fertilization on canopy expansion of Melastoma dodecandrumin early growth stage

A fertilization experiment with orthogonal design was used to study the effects of different fertilization treatments on the canopy expansion of Melastoma dodecandrum in early growth stage. The results showed that the difference of canopy expansion of individual plant among treatments were significant, but not for the leaf area index. In mellow red clay soil with moderate fertility, the best fertilization rates of N, P2O5, K2O were 5.412 g/plant, 3.513 g/plant and 2.451 g/plant within the first 3 months after the transplanted seedlings turned to green. And the canopy cover area of individual plant increase by 5.66 to 5.91 times within 80 days.