Rooting of kiwi cuttings Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C. F. Liang & A. R. Ferguson var. Deliciosa

Abstract

The kiwifruit is an exotic fruit originated from southeast China and belonging to the Actinidiaceae family. Due to its market potentiality and high yield, the kiwifruit is arising great interest among Brazilian fruit growers. This study was carried out at the Plant Science Department, Eliseu Maciel Agronomy College of Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, aiming to verify the effect of indolbutyric acid (IBA) on the rooting of cuttings of two cultivars on different collecting dates. Cuttings used had two buds and 12.5 cm length, with a diameter of 8.5 min from Tomuri and Bruno cultivars collected in January, April and July 1994. The basal ends of cuttings were treated with IBA solutions (0; 2000; 4000; 6000 and 8000 ppm). After being treated the cuttings were planted in plastic bags containing sand as substrate. During January and April the cuttings were maintained in a greenhouse with intermittent mist and during July in a shaded greenhouse for 60 days. The results showed the best rooting data of 56.62% for Tomuri cultivar and 47.35% for Bruno cultivar with 8000 ppm IBA concentration. Cuttings collected in January and April gave the highest cuttings rooting percentage, number of roots per cutting, length, and root dry weight. Bruno and Tomuri cultivars showed similar behaviour between themselves for the three collecting dates.