Induction of Roots on Jujube Softwood Cuttings Using Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Abstract

Trees of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba), particularly older ones, root with great difficulty. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the effects of two strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes (A4 and TR105) on softwood cuttings from two trees—a tree 10 years old not currently bearing flowers, which we called “juvenile” because it still exhibited many juvenile characteristics; and a tree ≈70 years old containing many flower buds, which we called “mature”. The cuttings were collected on 11 May 1994 and trimmed to 7.5 cm. Both strain and source of cutting influenced inoculation success—TR105 was more responsive to A. rhizogenes than was A4 and the “juvenile” cuttings more responsive than “mature” cuttings. Strain TR105 was very effective in increasing rooting percentages and root number. “Juvenile” cuttings had better rooting percentages, greater root number, and greater root length than did “mature” cuttings. Agrobacterium rhizogenes exhibits great potential for rooting other difficult woody ornamental or fruit tree species as well.