| heal.abstract |
Rooting experiments were performed in two seasons (summer and autumn, 2008). The effect of two rooting media (organic and a mixture of peat:perlite, 1:1), two hormones (IBA and NAA) at four different concentrations (500, 1000, 2000, 4000 ppm), and the combinations of these hormones on rooting ability of three olive cultivars ('Arbequina', 'Kalamata' and 'Mastoidis') was studied. Starch and sugar analyses of the base of cuttings were performed at 0, 3 and 7 days after they were put under a mist propagation system. The results showed that cuttings of the three cultivars rooted better in the organic substrate. 'Arbequina' gave the highest percentage of rooted cuttings (up to 96%), followed by 'Mastoidis' (up to 60%) and 'Kalamata' (2-5%). Hormone treatment affected the rooting ability of cultivars differently. Thus, 'Arbequina' had the highest rooting percentage with IBA (2000 ppm) in summer and IBA+NAA (1000 ppm) in autumn. NAA (1000 ppm) gave the best results for both seasons in 'Mastoidis' cultivar while IBA (500 ppm) gave the highest rooting percentage in 'Kalamata' (5% in summer). Initially, 'Arbequina' had higher stachyose, mannitol and total soluble sugar concentrations than the other cultivars, while 'Kalamata' had the highest starch concentration. The pattern of changes in sugar concentrations at 3 and 7 days after planting was different for each cultivar. Initial internal sugar concentrations and their metabolism might be important during the early period of the rooting process. |
en |