Paper Title
Growth and Biomass Production of Gliricidiasepium Provenances in an Alley Cropping System in Kuwait

Abstract
A field experiment was carried out at the site of the public authority for agriculture and fish resources, Kuwait, during March 2014 to February 2015 to investigate the influence of spacing on the early performance and biomass production of Gliricidiasepiumprovenances in an alley cropping system. Three between-row spacings of 1, 2 and 3 m were combined with three within-row spacings (0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 m) and 10 provenances were used in a split plot experimental design with five replications. The observations were recorded for plant morphological characteristics, biological nitrogen fixation and total biomass and analyzed using ANOVA.The result revealed that the relativeplant growth of Gliricidiasepium provenances planted at a spacing of 3 m x 1 m recorded the significantly higher values (p≤ 0.05) for plant height, canopy area, collar diameter, and leaf area, and number of branches.In general this research showed that the lower the density of planting the better the performance of the individual trees, and consequently the greater the yields per hectare.Total biomass production per unit area was, expectedly, greatest where the spacing between hedgerows were closest, while production per plant decreased with closer within-row spacings. The highest biomass (77.6 ton ha-1) was produced from the high density planting (1 x 0.25 m) followed by 20.5 ton ha-1 (2 x 0.5 m) and 8.2 ton ha-1 (3 x 1 m). Among the Gliricidiasepium provenances, Samala, Retalhuleu at a spacing of 3 m x 1 m ranked first in all plant growth characteristics and hence can be recommended for landscaping under the urban conditions of Kuwait. Keywords� Arid, Alley Planting, Provenances, Nitrogen Fixation, Total Biomass.