Effects of some auxins on propagation by hardwood cutting of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.)

Abstract

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.), belonging to Elaeagnaceae family, naturally spreads over Southern Europe and East Asia. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 6 m in height and 9 m in width. Its form is rounded, with dense branches. The species can store the nitrogen in its roots. Thus, it has the ability to live even in the most inefficient soil. It is valued for its ability to prevent erosion and to attract wildlife and has been used in some agroforestry practices. When it is mature, the species has edible fruit with brilliant red or yellow pigmentation, and can be consumed especially as dried fruit. In addition, the greatest benefit of the fruit is the amount of lycopene it has. 100 grams of the fruit contains 7 to 17 times more lycopene than the same amount of tomatoes. Besides being extremely useful, antioxidant-containing fruits can be used in horticulture while leaves and flowers can be used in landscaping. Therefore, it is necessary to reproduce autumn olive for its uses in Turkey. Within the scope of this study, propagation of the species is carried out by hardwood cutting which is one of the vegetative propagation techniques. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of different auxins (IBA 1000 ppm, IBA 5000 ppm, NAA 1000 ppm and NAA 5000 ppm) on propagation of autumn olive by hardwood cutting in greenhouse condition with air temperature at 20±2°C, rooting table temperature at 25±2°C and perlite rooting media. The first root formation date, rooting percentage, root length and the number of roots were determined. The results showed that the highest rooting percentage occurred as 70% in NAA 5000 ppm and IBA 5000 ppm treatment. This study will provide a basis for further researches to be conducted using vegetative propagation methods.