Abstract
Capillary mats were used to vary the water content in oasis blocks during mist propagation of chrysanthemum cuttings. Mats placed on the surface of the propagation bench extended over the edge of the bench and downward a distance of either 0 or 20 cm. Oasis blocks with chrysanthemum cuttings `Boaloi' and `Salmon Charm' were placed on mats under intermittent mist (10 seconds every 5 minutes) between 5 am and 8 pm. Relative water content, mL of water/gram oasis, and leaf water potential were measured at noon every 5 days. After 26 days number of roots per cutting was evaluated. Water content in the oasis block was reduced by 49% (450 to 219 mL/g dry weight of oasis) by hanging the capillary mat 20 cm over the edge of the bench compared to 0 cm treatment. Cuttings showed an increase in leaf relative water content from 49% and 51% at day 1 to 65% and 71% by day 11 for `Boaloi' and `Salmon Charm', respectively. Following initial root formation, leaf relative water content increased to 85%. Over the course of the experiment `Boaloi' and `Salmon Charm' showed an average reduction in leaf water potential of 0.14 and 0.08 MPA, respectively. `Boaloi' showed overall higher root numbers than `Salmon Charm'; however, no difference in rooting between mat treatments was observed.
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