ROOTING PRODUCTS AND CUTTING TIMING ON SAGE (SALVIA OFFICINALIS L.) PROPAGATION

S. Nicola, E. Fontana, J. Hoeberechts, D. Saglietti
Propagation success represents one of the most important goals for plant producers. Vegetative propagation is used when seed germinability is very low and in Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (MAP) it is sometimes less than 50%. Beside, plant producers complain about the lack of seed selection programs and also of detailed information on cultural techniques of these species. The aim of the research was to study the cutting techniques on sage testing natural rooting hormones for organic farming and synthetic auxins with different application procedures to increase rooting. The experiment started on June 2001 and ended on October 2001, leading to 11 cuttings, which were performed every two weeks. Plastic trays (104 cells each) were filled with a cutting specific medium, well pressed and wetted with water until saturation. Portions of stem were cut from stock plants and planted in the substrate. Treatments considered were seven commercial rooting products, plus an untreated control. Trays were located on a bench provided of mist irrigation system. Starting three weeks after each cutting, four weekly samplings took place to evaluate rooting degree: four cuttings for each treatment for each cutting period were taken, and roots were carefully washed in water to eliminate the growing medium. The longest root length was measured and root number was counted. The experimental design consisted of a complete randomized design with rooting products as a factor (8 levels plus control) with four repetitions. According to the results, sage was earlier than other tested aromatic species on root production; the use of rooting products had a positive effect on root system development, both in terms of root number and longest root length. Synthetic auxin rooting products positively affected measured parameters more than rooting products for organic farming.
Nicola, S., Fontana, E., Hoeberechts, J. and Saglietti, D. (2005). ROOTING PRODUCTS AND CUTTING TIMING ON SAGE (SALVIA OFFICINALIS L.) PROPAGATION. Acta Hortic. 676, 135-141
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.676.16
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.676.16
root length, root number, organic farming, auxins, medicinal and aromatic plant
English

Acta Horticulturae