Phyto-stimulation in mulberry stakes (Morus alba L.) by plant extracts

摘要

The mulberry is a multipurpose plant and its propagation is done mostly vegetatively, by cuttings; however, the initial rooting is low so natural stimulators are being used to promote it. To study the phyto-stimulator effect of plant extracts, mulberry cuttings were subjected to immersion in aqueous extracts 10 % w/v young apical shoots of Ocimum basilicum (OB), Cnidoscolus chayamansa (CC), Kalanchoe pinnata (KP), Gliricidia sepium (GS), Melissa officinalis (MO), Coleus amboinicus (CA) and Aloe vera (AV), as well as water + ethanol (2 %), plus a control. Twenty cuttings were used per treatment which were subsequently planted in bags with substrate containing loamy soil. After 30 days the dry weight of aerial and root fraction as well as the percentage of buds sprouting and leaf number per cuttings were evaluated. MO extract determined the highest sprouting (80.1 %), being statistically different (P≤0.001) from the other treatments. No differences were detected in the number of leaves/cuttings, resulting in average of 10.7. The aboveground biomass showed that basal immersion of cuttings in extract of CA had a positive effect on the emission of foliar structures in relation to the control treatment. For the root fraction the greater proportion was found with GS treatment (0.61 g dry weight per cutting), whereas the other treatments had similar effect of water + ethanol treatment. It is concluded that using extracts of young shoots of G. sepium and M. officinalis may favor vegetative propagation of mulberry during its initial growth.