ABSTRACT
This study aimed to assess the effects of the time interval between the collection/preparation and plantation on the rooting of minicuttings of four Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis clones. The experimental design used was entirely randomized, bi-factorial and arranged with sub-divided plots, being time intervals in plots (0, 2 and 4 hours) and the clones in subplots (C1 , C2 , C3 and C4 ), with three replications of 192 plants each. The rooting and the survival of minicuttings in the greenhouse exit and in the shade house, the survival, the growth and the root system quality of 50-day-old seedlings were assessed. Among the four clones studied, it was observed, in three ones, that storage periods of the minicuttings above two hours caused significant reduction in the percentage of rooting and in the survival of 50-day-old seedlings. However, the clone C2presents the most efficient technique for rooting in the shade house exit and the survival of 50-day-old seedlings when their minicuttings are stored for 2.3 and 2.5 hours, respectively; as much as it presents greater height growth, when the minicuttings were stored during 4 hours. In all clones, those seedlings from minicuttings stored during 4 hours present lower quality of root system than plants obtained from cuttings with 0 and 2 hours of storage.
Keywords:
mini-cutting; cloning; clonal sylviculture (forestry)