Maintenance of leaves and indolebutyric acid in rooting of juvenile Japanese Flowering Cherry cuttings

Abstract

The Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata Lindl.), also known as Hill Cherry, is an exotic species native to the East Asia, widely used in landscaping, with an excellent ornamental potential due to its flowering and vegetative characteristics such as bright bark and showy foliage. Despite its commercial importance, there is no information in literature about the vegetative propagation of this species, a method that could facilitate the production of seedlings with selected characteristics and flowering anticipation. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of indolebutyric acid (IBA) to promote rooting of Prunus serrulata cuttings, with and without leaves, obtained from current year shoots, with the intent to subsidize the development of a propagation protocol for the species. The IBA concentrations used in both types of cuttings were 0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg L-1. After 60 days in the greenhouse it was observed that the maintenance of leaves is essential to the viability of the technique for Prunus serrulata, as well as the application of IBA, to induce rooting, with a recommended concentration of 2000 mg L-1.