Cutting rooting of litchi treated with indolebutyric acid and different substrates

Abstract

The seedling production of lychee (Litchi chinensis Soon.) by cuttings, is a promising alternative because it allows the reduction of the period of juvenility and maintenance of the desirable characteristics of the stock plant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rooting of semihard cuttings of litchi cv. Bengal treated with indole butyric acid (IBA) on different substrates. The experimental design was completely randomized arranged in a factorial 3 x 2 (three substrates: rice hulls, coconut fiber and vermiculite, and two IBA concentrations: 0 and 1,000 mg L-1), with five replicates of 10 cuttings per plot. It was found that there was no influence of the substrate and the concentration of IBA on the survival of cuttings. The rooted cuttings on coconut fiber showed higher leaf retention. The application of IBA on cuttings in carbonized rice husk and vermiculite resulted in the best average of rooting. For the dry mass of roots, the highest average has observed with vermiculite and IBA application. The use of rice hulls and vermiculite as substrates and the application of 1,000 mg L-1 IBA is the most appropriate for rooting of litchi ‘Bengal’ cuttings.