ISHS Acta Horticulturae 577: VII International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding and Pomology
TIMING OF HARDWOOD CUTTINGS IN THE PROPAGATION OF PLUM ROOTSTOCKS |
| Authors: | V. Szecsko, A. Csikos, K. Hrotko |
| Keywords: | vegetative propagation, sprouting, cuttings, rooting, dormant season, rootstocks |
| Abstract:
More and more vegetatively propagated rootstocks have been released for the plum, therefore a cheap propagation method is necessary. Propagation by hardwood cuttings is widely used for commercial propagation of fruit tree rootstocks, but not in Hungarian nurseries. The success of hardwood cuttings is determined by many factors, one of them is the timing of collection, the best rooting results can be obtained in the beginning and in the end of the dormant season, according to the earlier studies. The aim of this experiment was to study the propagation of plum rootstocks by hardwood cuttings, and to find the time or period when the percent of rooted cuttings is maximal. Two experiments were carried out, in the first experiment four plum rootstocks’ rooting ability was studied by autumn and sprig propagation, in the second experiment hardwood cuttings of three rootstocks were collected throughout the dormant season in monthly intervals. The results showed that the optimal collection time when the rooting is maximal depends on the cultivar. Most cultivars rooted better in autumn and the beginning of winter. Autumn collection of cuttings was better for the rootstocks ’Myrobalan B’ and 'MY-BO 1’, while spring collection was better for ’MY-KL-A’. Hardwood cuttings of the rootstock ’Eruni’ showed low rooting ability. Results of the second experiment suggest that for the tested three plum rootstocks the period from October to December is good for hardwood cutting propagation, but each cultivar is needed to be examined for finding the best time for maximal rooting. The optimal time for ’Fehér Besztercei’ is December, for ’INRA ‘Saint Julien GF 655-2’ is October, and for ’INRA Marianna GF 8-1’ the optimal period is longer, from October to December. Bud activity was examined by forcing the cuttings. The pattern of sprouting of buds was that the cuttings collected right after leaf fall did not sprout, but considerable budbreak happened with the cuttings collected from the beginning of January. | |
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