EFFECT OF GROWTH STIMULANTS ON ROOTING AND GROWTH OF SWEET AND SOUR CHERRY CLONAL ROOTSTOCKS SOFTWOOD CUTTINGS [VLIV STIMULÁTORŮ NA ZAKOŘEŇOVANI VYBRANÝCH PODNOŽÍ TREŠNÍ A VIŠNÍ]

Abstract

This study investigates methods to improve the rooting efficiency of sweet and sour cherry clonal rootstocks. Propagation with softwood cuttings is one of the effective ways of speeding up the production of high-quality planting material. We evaluated the use of different types of biostimulants for rooting rate, quality, quantity of roots, and growth of softwood cuttings. The study involved propagation of the five most popular rootstocks in Ukraine: Krymsk® 5, Krymsk® 6, Krymsk® 7, Gisela 5, and Colt. Results indicated that softwood cuttings, particularly for Krymsk-type rootstocks, offer a cost-effective propagation method. Rooting efficiency varied from 53.6±5.1% to 65.1±4.4%, and stimulant Zircon at a concentration of 0.5 ml/L was the least effective. Among other stimulants, IBA at 50 mg/L (control) and Zircon at 0.1 ml/L showed the best results. Rootstock Krymsk® 7 had the highest percentage of rooting (90.7±1.3%) and the longest roots (10.3±0.2 cm), while Gisela 5 had the lowest values of the indices (41.5±1.5% rooting and 3.9±0.4 roots per plant). The control (Krymsk® 5) variant showed the highest shoot growth (12.1±0.8 cm). The results show that the rootstock genotype has a decisive influence on the process of rooting and plant growth, rather than the stimulants.

Keywords

• sweet and sour cherry rootstocks
• growth stimulants
• cuttings
• rooting