Effect of indolebutyric acid, etiolation and basal injury on propagation of star fruit by hardwood cuttings

The aim of this work was to verify the influence of shading, lesion in cutting bases and application of Indolbutyric acid (IBA) in the rooting of star fruit hardwood cuttings. The cuttings were padronized with three buds, two leaves, and 12 cm of length. The experimental design was completely randomized, with the factorial scheme 3 x 4, where the studied factors were the cutting types (shaded hardwood, hardwood with lesion on the base, and hardwood, considered the control) and different concentration of IBA (0; 3,000; 6,000, and 9,000 mg L-1). The shading started 45 days before removing the cuttings from the branch, wrapping up the base of the future cuttings with black plastic tape. The incision on the base of the cuttings was performed at the moment they were removed from the branch, through two cuts on the base. The cuttings were maintained in a chamber under intermittent mist and after 75 days, the rooting percentage, survival percentage, callus formation percentage and length roots per cuttings were evaluated. It was concluded that hardwood cuttings without the treatments of shading and lesion on the base and application of IBA showed the best results of rooting.