Development of a Non-Mist Vegetative Propagation Protocol for Eucalyptus Hybrid Clones
Abstract
Eucalyptus trees have proved to be a popular species for farm forestry,however their vegetative propagation has not been optimised mainly due to the high cost of infrastructure used to propagate them in mist propagators, making the technology unaffordable by the rural poor. A series of nursery experiments were carried out toassess the effects of rooting medium (sandy and clay subsoil, mixed in the following ratios 1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1 and 2:1 respectively by volume) and leaf area (0, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 cm2) on rooting of juvenile cuttings of Eucalyptus grandis x camadulensis(EGC) hybrids in a non mist propagator in orderto develop a cheap propagation protocol for Eucalyptus hybrid clones in Kenya.Results showed that propagation media had a significant effect (<0.01, ANOVA) on rooting and shooting, with sand soil having the least mean rooting (23.7%) and shooting (23.0%) among different EGC hybrids, compared to clay sub soil having the highest mean rooting (53.1%) and shooting (81.9%). Leaf area had a pronounced effect on rooting and shooting percentage of EGC hybrids,with 100 cm2giving the highest rooting (65.9%) and shooting (78.1%). Leaf area of zero cm2gave the lowest rooting (7.5%) and shooting percentage (12.7%). Clay sub soil in combination with a leaf area of 100 cm2may be recommended for use in this propagation system.