Propagation of ‘Bruno’ kiwifruit: influence of cutting collection time and indolebutyric acid

Abstract

In Brazil, the propagation of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is achieved through seed-derived rootstocks, which results in low uniformity. An alternative to address this problem is the cuttings technique, a simple and fast method that generates individuals identical to the parent plant, maintaining the agronomic traits. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of cutting collection time and indolebutyric acid (IBA) on the rooting of ‘Bruno’ kiwifruit cuttings. The cuttings were collected in the months of May, August and December 2016 and March 2017 and treated with 0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg L-1 IBA, as a hydroalcoholic solution, for seven seconds. After 90 days, the percentages of rooted and dead cuttings and cuttings that produced shoots; leaf retention; average length of the three largest roots; average number of primary roots per cutting; and reserve contents before and after rooting were evaluated. The treatments with IBA influenced the rooting of cuttings collected in May, which showed 36.07% rooting at the calculated IBA concentration of 2,320 mg L-1, and in December, which exhibited 57.59% rooting at the concentration of 4000 mg L-1. In the present experimental conditions, it is recommended to root cuttings of ‘Bruno’ kiwifruit collected in December with the application of 4000 mg L-1 IBA.