Treatment of stockplants with biostimulators and their effects on cutting propagation of Prunus marianna 'GF 8-1'

• Published in: Acta horticulturae no. 923; pp. 277 - 281
• Main Authors: Szabó, V, Sárvári, A, Hrotkó, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Horticultural Science 01.01.2011
• Subjects: Ascophyllum nodosum; auxins; chlorophyll; cutting; gibberellic acid; horticulture; leaves; macroalgae; plant propagation; protein synthesis; Prunus; rooting; shoots
• ISSN: 0567-7572
• DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.923.41

Leafy cuttings during rooting are exposed to several stress factors. In this study Prunus Marianna 'GF 8-1' stockplants were treated with some biostimulators to evaluate their effect on the rooting and quality of cuttings excised from them. Biostimulators are natural growth regulators, some of them containing auxin, gibberellic acid, cytokinins and aminoacids. These components increase physiological activity of plants, such as protein synthesis. Biostimulators help plants surviving to stresses. They are frequently used in horticulture, but rarely in plant propagation. Here three biostimulators were tested on stockplants, i.e., (i) Kelpak® made of brown kelp (Ecklonia maxima), and containing auxin-like and cytokinin-like substances, (ii) Wuxal Ascofol®, a leaf fertilizer containing seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) extract with hormonal substances, and (iii) Pentakeep®-V, a fertilizer containing 5-amino¬levulic-acid (ALA), which stimulates photosynthesis and increases chlorophyll content in leaves. The biostimulators were applied three times on stockplants before cutting collection. Data recorded were the number and weight of shoots, the weight of cuttings, the leaf chlorophyll content on stockplants and the number of rooted cuttings. It was shown that the biostimulators Kelpak® and Wuxal Ascofol® increased the number and the weight of shoots, the weight of cuttings and the leaf chlorophyll content. As a consequence, shoots of treated stockplants reached earlier the optimum size and quality for cutting propagation. Largest root production was shown by cuttings taken from stockplants treated with Pentakeep®-V. Application of Kelpak® on stockplants resulted in the highest rooting rate and increased the fresh weight of cuttings during rooting in comparison with both, control cuttings and cuttings from stockplants treated with the other two compounds.