Techniques of Propagation by Cuttings 2

• types of stem cuttings:

  • hardwood
  • semi-hardwood
  • softwood
  • herbaceous
• types of leaf cuttings:

  • whole leaf
  • leaf blade without petiole
  • section of leaf
  • cuts on leaf veins
• leaf-bud cuttings:

  • single eye
  • double eye
• acquiring sources of cutting material:

  • especially maintained as a source of cutting material
  • pruning from nursery plants as they are trimmed and shaped
  • tissue culture produced liners
  • buying in small, rooted liner plants or unrooted cuttings
  • public/private plantings
• Stock plants are manipulated to maximize the rooting potential prior to taking cuttings
• importance of pruning:

  • maintenance of juvenility to improve rooting
  • plant shaping for easier and faster collection of propagules
  • increased cutting production
  • timing of flushes
  • reducing reproductive shoots
• types of pruning:

  • modified stooling
  • hard pruning
  • moderate pruning
  • light pruning
  • hedging
  • double pruning
• modified stooling: severely cut back to the base
• hard pruning: cut back to 1/2 their size annually
• moderate pruning: plants are cut back by 1/3 to 1/2 of the previous annual shoot
• light pruning: just removing tips of shoots or normal removing of cuttings
• hedging: maintain the hedge form
• double pruning: spring pruning/June pruning; delays cutting harvest until fall
• Wounding can enhance rooting
• Wounding can enhance rooting by improving the absorption of auxins
• Wounding can enhance rooting by removing any anatomical barriers
• Wounding can enhance rooting by creating a sink area, attracting metabolites and auxin
• Wounding can enhance rooting by stimulating active cell division
• Wounding can enhance rooting by causing ethylene evolution
• Wounding cuttings can enhance rooting by improving the contact layer and hydraulic contact between the cutting base and moist propagation media
• Auxin increases the percentage of cuttings that form roots
• Auxin can cause faster root initiation
• Auxin can increase rooting uniformity
• Auxin is not needed for herbaceous cuttings
• Auxin 500-1,250 mg/L for softwood cuttings
• Auxin 1,000-3,000 mg/L for semi-hardwood cuttings
• Auxin 2,500-5,000 mg/L for hardwood cuttings
• C1V1 = C2V2
• auxin methods of application:

  • powder
  • dilute solution soaking
  • quick dip
• rooting media temperature for leafy cuttings is 18-25C for temperate species and 7C higher for tropical species
• leafy cuttings require humidity
• leafy cuttings require ample, but not excessive light
• enclosed outdoor systems:

  • low polyethylene tunnels
  • cold frames
  • hot frames
• inside a greenhouse, contact polyethylene systems are used
• fog systems have fine water particles
• trough systems are a convenient method for converting standard benches to a water containment system
• trough systems are more economical and less maintenance
• most cuttings have sufficient tissue nutrients to allow root initiation to occur
• a low level of controlled release fertilizer either top dressed or pre-incorporated in the media is good for cuttings
• dilute liquid fertilizer can be applied to the propagation media after roots have been initiated