Abstract
Effective rooting and survival of cuttings has become more important owing to increased global wood demands and climate change. This study assesses the survival of ten (10) clones each of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla (E. grandis x E. urophylla) and Eucalyptus pellita (E. pellita) clonal cuttings when treated with different Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) auxin concentrations of 0 ppm (control), 2000 ppm, 3000 ppm and 4000 ppm respectively. Overall, the mean survival of cuttings with respect to both species (10 clones each) was low (i.e < 50%) for all concentrations of IBA used. E. grandis x E. urophylla cuttings had the highest mean survival (43.39%) when treated with 2000 ppm of IBA and lowest mean survival (37.86%) when treated with 0 ppm. E. pellita (P) cuttings had the highest mean survival (27.14%) when treated with 2000 ppm of IBA. Individual clones however showed higher survival with respect to IBA treatments. Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla clone (GH11) achieved a mean survival rate of 75% with 2000ppm of IBA. E. pellita clone P2 achieved its highest survival (52.68%) in the control experiment (0 ppm). Although IBA application had significant effect on cutting survival, parent material (individual clones) also plays a vital role in cutting survival as some clones such P51 and P82 achieved survivals of less than 10% given all four levels of IBA used. Individual clones also respond to IBA concentration differently. GH3 and GH10 had their highest survivals (i.e 66.07% and 61.61% respectively) in the control (0ppm of IBA). Results from this study can be used in plus tree clonal selection regimes to identify the best economically rewarding clones in terms of cutting survival to be used in forest plantation establishments.
Highlights
IntroductionDespite the large number of Eucalyptus species existing worldwide, less than twenty are actively used for commercial plantations and this can be attributed to factors such as environmental conditions, wood and pulp quality as well as rooting ability (survival) of cuttings (Almeida et al, 2010)
Despite the large number of Eucalyptus species existing worldwide, less than twenty are actively used for commercial plantations and this can be attributed to factors such as environmental conditions, wood and pulp quality as well as rooting ability of cuttings (Almeida et al, 2010)
Survival results for Eucalyptus pellita cuttings did not vary from the trend of E. grandis × E. urophylla as survival rates continued to vary with respect to alterations in indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentration
Summary
Despite the large number of Eucalyptus species existing worldwide, less than twenty are actively used for commercial plantations and this can be attributed to factors such as environmental conditions, wood and pulp quality as well as rooting ability (survival) of cuttings (Almeida et al, 2010). For many plants especially with long germination, vegetative propagation is a fast and economic method of multiplication and it is the only practically applicable method available (Pacurar et al, 2014). Traditional propagation of Eucalyptus species mainly occurs through seed germination, most of the planting stock is still produced from seeds of unselected genotypes (Husen and Pal, 2006). The application of exogenous plant growth regulators, as the auxins group, can increase the success of adventitious rooting in vegetative propagule collected from selected genotypes of Eucalyptus and the indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) is the most used (Ebling et al, 2012). The focus of cloning has shifted to industrial requirements, Quick Response Code
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