Cedrela odorata L. MINI-CUTTING ROOTING

A massive and low-cost vegetation propagation is required to establish clonal plantations of Cedrela odorata L. Developing appropriate protocols is necessary to fulfill all the requirements of the cutting rooting system. This study evaluated the effects of the substrate (perlite and a 2:1:1 peat, perlite, and vermiculite mix), the type of cutting (basal, intermediate, and apical) and the concentration of indole-butyric acid (IBA; 0, 1500, 5000, and 10 000 ppm) in the rooting of C. odorata cuttings. All cuttings tested were at least 25 cm in lenght, and 1 cm in diameter. The substrate type-IBA interaction will improve, in a different ratio, the production of adventitious roots according to the type of cutting. Experimental design was completely random, in a factorial arrangement, with ten replications. After 20 weeks, the cuttings showed an average rooting of 52.7 %. Perlite increased rooting over 50 %, with regard to the mix; meanwhile an IBA of 1500 ppm favored a 73.3 rooting. The best response to rooting came from apical cuttings: the number and length of adventitious roots increased over 50 %, in comparison with the other two types of cuttings. The interactions between factors were not significant; however, apical cuttings with an IBA of 1500 ppm, rooted in perlite, was the better combination, with a 90 % rooting. Therefore, these are the best conditions for C. odorata rooting.