Factors Affecting Vegetative Propagation of Arbutus Unedo L. by Stem CUTTINGS
Metaxas, D.; Syros, T.; Economou, A.
Propagation of Ornamental Plants 8(4): 190-197
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1311-9109
Accession: 070607614
Application of IBA or K-TBA (8.0 g l(-1)) increased the rooting percentage eight times in cuttings of Arbutus unedo. Cuttings treated with K-IBA showed higher survival rate than cuttings treated with IBA. There were no differences in the rooting percentages among the three substrates used. However, cutting survival in perlite and perlite-peat was twice as high as in sand. The supplementary lighting did not affect rooting and survival rate. Cuttings survived best when collected in July or November and achieved highest rooting percentages (>= 85.1%). There were significant differences among various Arbutus unedo genotypes in rooting ability, both in July and November harvest. The percentage of rooted cuttings ranged from 0 to 100% for the control and K-IBA treatment for both periods (July and November), while cutting survival was higher than 65.0% in all cases. In conclusion, appropriate growth regulator treatment, time of cutting collection and rooting substrate affect positively the chance of cutting survival in Arbutus unedo, facilitating rooting, while genotype affects the rooting rate and number of roots.