Cutting propagation with four cultivars of pot chrysanthemums

Key words: 
• horticulture /
• pot Chrysanthemum cuttage /
• matrix /
• plug size /
• cold storage of cuttings /
• 1-naphthylacetic acid （NAA）

Abstract: To determine optimal conditions for cutting propagation of four newly bred pot chrysanthemums （Chrysanthemum morifolium） cultivars：Jinling Huangguan，Jinling Yangguang，Jinling Jiaohuang and Jinling Zishan. Six indexes including：maximum root length，average root length，root diameter，adventitious root number，root fresh weight，and rooting rate were used to evaluate rooting ability. Treatments were：matrices （vermiculite，perlite，and grass charcoal），plug size （50，72，128，and 288-cave） to test the rooting effect，1-naphthylacetic acid （NAA） concentration （0，250，500，750，and 1 000 mgL－1），and cold storage period for cuttings （4 ℃ for 14，28，and 42 d）. The plants were randomly plotted，each plot includes 30 cuttings，and the experiment contains three replicates，90 cuttings for each cultivar were included. 10 cuttings were sampled from each plot at 20 days after being planted. Results showed that vermiculite and grass charcoal （1 ∶ 1，V ∶ V） was the optimal matrix for rooting，followed by grass charcoal and perlite （1 ∶ 1，V ∶ V）. Rooting ability of Jinling Huangguan， Jinling Yangguang and Jinling Jiaohuang planted in 288-cave plug decreased significantly at P=0.05 level compared to those planted in the other plugs of lesser caves. Root length and root fresh weight overall increased with 500－750 mgL－1 NAA. In addition，rooting ability decreased after 42 d cold storage，howevere，there is no significant difference between 42 d cold storage and control in Jinling Huangguan and Jinling Jiaohuangcultivars. The root number of Jinling Yangguang increased significantly at P=0.01 level after 42 d cold storage. However，maximum root length of Jinling Yangguang increased significantly at P=0.05 level after 14 d cold storage. The present study will do aid to the seedling production of these newly bred cultivars.［Ch，4 tab. 8 ref.］