The effect of 6-benzylaminopurine, a cytokinin, on bud-forcing of twelve oak species^©

INTRODUCTION
Oaks (Quercus L.) are globally iconic trees, prized economically, ecologically, and aesthetically. However, despite their importance, many species of Quercus are under threat from a wide range of global issues (Oldfield and Eastwood, 2007). One method of saving threatened oak species is micropropagation using young, newly flushed shoots collected immediately after emergence in the spring (Kramer and Pence, 2012). This is a narrow and somewhat unpredictable time window for obtaining explants. However, forcing bud break of cuttings can increase the time range to collect young shoot explants and allow for shoot development in a controlled, clean environment (Vieitez et al., 1994). The objective of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), a cytokinin (hormone that promotes cell division), on bud break in 12 Quercus species.