Effect of stock plant shading, developmental stage and cytokinin on growth and lateral branching of Syngonium podophyllum ‘White Butterfly’

Abstract

Syngonium podophyllum Schott. ‘White Butterfly’ cuttings which received a 5-min dip in 400 or 800 mg l −1 PBA had faster initial growth but produced smaller plants with fewer leaves and basal shoots, less total leaf area, and smaller shoot and root dry weights than controls. Light intensities of 650 and 1200 μmol s −1 m −2 on stock plants did not affect the subsequent growth of cuttings. Foliar sprays of 0, 250, 500, 750 or 1000 mg l −1 BA on plants had no effect on lateral branching and growth of plants propagated from cuttings when applied at the 1-leaf stage. However, when treated with the same concentrations and with 2000 mg l −1 at the 3- and 5-leaf stages, increasing BA concentration induced earlier development of basal lateral shoots and decreased the elongation of the main shoot, resulting in bushier plants. The total number of lateral shoots at final harvest, however, was not increased by BA. BA application at the 3-leaf stage was more effective in reducing the length of the main shoot than application at the 5-leaf stage. BA caused an increased fraction of the total dry weight to be partitioned to the lateral shoots and less to the main shoot, although total plant dry weight remained unchanged among treatments. Leaf number was unaffected by BA. BA foliar spray at 200, 400, 600 or 800 mg l −1 on plants which had already started natural basal branching had no effect on plant growth except that total length of the top 3 internodes on the main shoot was reduced by 25% at the 3 higher concentrations.