Abstract
Abstract Azalea (Rhododendron simsii Planch.) is an ornamental plant native to China, propagated commercially by cuttings and cultivated in Brazil due to the beauty of its flowers. However, it presents rooting difficulties, which can lead to a reduction in the commercial production of these seedlings. Thus, the application of plant regulators is necessary to achieve rooting success as well as of nutrients that are involved in biochemical and physiological plant processes. This work aimed to evaluate the rooting performance of Otto and Terra Nova azalea herbaceous cuttings treated with indolebutyric acid (IBA) and boron. The experiments were conducted at a private property specialized in the production of potted azalea, located in Holambra County, São Paulo State, Brazil, and the evaluations were carried out at the Plant Seed Laboratory of the Crop Production Department, São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, Jaboticabal. The experimental design for each experiment with each cultivar was completely randomized. The treatments were arranged in a 4x4 factorial scheme (IBA concentrations x boron concentrations) with four replications and 10 cuttings per replication. The evaluation was performed six weeks after experiment beginning. Auxin and boron did not influence rooting percentage of cuttings of both cultivars. However, Otto cultivar presented a better-quality root system when cuttings were treated with 2,000 mg L−1 IBA in the absence of boron.
Highlights
Azalea plants (Rhododendron simsii Planch.), belonging to the Ericaceae family, is an ornamental plant native to China (Christiaens et al, 2014), but widely used in Brazil due to the beauty of its flower colors and shapes
The experiment was conducted at the commercial property “Sleutjes Azaleias”, specialized in potted azalea cultivation, located in Holambra County, São Paulo State, Brazil, and the evaluations were carried out at the Plant Seed Laboratory of the Crop Production Department, São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, from June 10th to July 22nd, 2016
The bases of the cuttings (1/3 of the length), firstly immersed in hydrous solution (50% ethyl alcohol) in the different indolebutyric acid (IBA) concentrations, were subsequently treated with solutions of different boron concentrations, which source was boric acid (17% B), according to the treatments, where cuttings were immersed for a similar period to auxin immersion
Summary
Azalea plants (Rhododendron simsii Planch.), belonging to the Ericaceae family, is an ornamental plant native to China (Christiaens et al, 2014), but widely used in Brazil due to the beauty of its flower colors and shapes. A recent analysis by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae, 2015) showed growth in this sector from 20% to 24% from 2008 to 2013 In this same analysis, it was noted that such growth reflects the behavior of consumers in the international market, which points to the growing importance of flowering and potted plants in the consumption pattern, given the better cost-benefit ratio when compared with cut flowers due to lower relative costs as well as greater durability and convenience of flowering and potted plants.
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