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Indole-3-butyric acid accelerates adventitious root formation and impedes shoot growth of Pinus elliottii var. elliottii × P. caribaea var. hondurensis cuttings

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Abstract

Many plantation tree species are cloned to achieve the growth, disease resistance and wood quality characteristics required for a successful economic venture. However, clonal propagation is limited by declines in adventitious root formation with increasing stock plant age. We examined the effects of immediate or delayed IBA application on adventitious root formation and subsequent root and shoot development of cuttings harvested from 8-year-old clonal hedge plants of Pinus elliottii var. elliottii × P. caribaea var. hondurensis. IBA applied at the time of setting accelerated root formation, elevating the percentage of cuttings with roots at 13 weeks post-setting from 45 to 78% and from 83 to 93% for a low- and a high-rooting clone, respectively. Final rooting percentages for the same treatments and clones (78 and 85%, and 88 and 100%, respectively, at 20 weeks post-setting) were not significantly affected by IBA application. IBA increased the root:shoot ratio of rooted cuttings by decreasing shoot weight compared with untreated cuttings, without affecting root weight, root length, root surface area or root volume. IBA was only effective when applied at the time of setting. A simple IBA treatment for cuttings from 8-year-old clonal hedges, by accelerating root production, has potential for reducing nursery costs and increasing the root system quality of containerised pine cuttings.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kate Murray, Rodger Peters, Grant White and Paul Toon (Forestry Plantations Queensland) for providing cuttings and assisting with setting, Tim Smith, Donna Richardson and Dan Foster for helping to establish and assess the experiment, and Paul Ryan, Bruce Hogg, John Simpson, David Osborne, John Oostenbrink, David Lee, Alan Ward, Jaimie Cook, Debra Cook, John Huth, Peter Pomroy and Tony Burridge for assisting with hormone treatments and setting cuttings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Sunshine Coast, and Agriscience Queensland, Locked Bag 16, Fraser Road, Gympie, QLD, 4570, Australia

    Mark A. Hunt

  2. University of the Sunshine Coast, and Agriscience Queensland, Maroochydore DC, QLD, 4558, Australia

    Stephen J. Trueman

  3. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Amanda Rasmussen

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  1. Mark A. Hunt
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Correspondence to Amanda Rasmussen.

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Hunt, M.A., Trueman, S.J. & Rasmussen, A. Indole-3-butyric acid accelerates adventitious root formation and impedes shoot growth of Pinus elliottii var. elliottii × P. caribaea var. hondurensis cuttings. New Forests 41, 349–360 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-010-9227-7

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