Vegetative propagation of Passiflora actinia by semihardwood cuttings

Abstract

Two experiments were carried out to verify the effect of different concentrations of IBA (indolbutyric acid) and ethanol on vegetative propagation of Passiflora actinia. Semihardwood cuttings were used presenting four nodes and two leaves. In the experiment with IBA the following concentrations were tested: 0, 250, 500 and 1000 mg.L-1. In the experiment with ethanol the treatments were the following ones: control, water, ethanol 10%, ethanol 30%, ethanol 50% and ethanol 70%. All treatments were applied by immersion of the base of the cuttings (2cm) for 1 minute. In both experiments a randomized blocks design with five replications was used, and each plot had twenty cuttings. The cuttings were maintained in a mist chamber, in plastic pots, with the commercial medium Plantmax®. The evaluation was made seven weeks after the trial installation. Significant differences were not observed among treatments, in both experiments, for all the analyzed variables, except for the number of roots emitted by the cuttings for the concentrations of IBA, which presented a significant linear regression. The rooting percentage was high, an average of 90% in the experiment with IBA and 70% in the experiment with ethanol. It can be concluded that P. actinia can be propagated by semihardwood cuttings without using growth regulator or ethanol.