The work was carried out in a greenhouse with intermitent mist to verify the effect of ethephon (2-chloroetyl phosphonic acid) in plants, applied one week before of branch collection, and later treatment with indolebutyric acid (IBA) on rooting of cuttings of Frontier, Reubennel, Ace, Songold, Beauty and Roxa de Itaquera cultivars. The plants were sprayed with ethephon at 0 (zero); 50 and 100 mg.l-1 concentrations. Branches of the year from eight years old plants were collected and from them median cuttings departed with 15cm lenght and two leaves. Later, they were treated with IBA at 0 (zero) and 3000 mg.l-1 concentrations for 5 seconds immersion. The cuttings were packed in polietylene bags containing vermiculite with substrate. Ethephon increased the rooting percentage of Beauty cultivar and the IBA increased the rooting percentage of Roxa de Itaquera, Songold and Beauty cultivars. Different rooting potential among of plum cultivars was verified and the best ones were Frontier and Ace.
plum; vegetative propagation; cultivar; indolebutyric acid; ethephon; rooting