Aloysia triphylla (L'Hér.) Britton is a medicinal plant shrub with aromatic leaves, which have essential oil rich in citral. The increasing demand of the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries for the A. triphyllaessential oil provided a greater interest in the cultivation of this species. Cutting is one of the main methods of propagation, due to the difficulty in obtaining seeds and also for the benefit of descendants being equal to the parent plant. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of IBA and length of cuttings in the rooting of A. triphylla. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment in the period from November 2010 to January 2011. The experimental design was completely randomized using the factorial design where the factors were five concentrations of indole butyric acid (IBA) (mg L-1): 0, 250, 500, 1000 and 1500, and four lengthsforthe cuttings: 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm. The cutting base was immersed in a solution of IBA and placed into the rooting Mecplant ® commercial substrate. The variables analyzed were: root length, percentage of rooted cuttings (%), number of shoots, fresh and dry weight of the shoots, and dry weight of the roots. Under the conditions in which the study was conducted, the results showed that the length of the cuttings and IBA concentration affect the development of the cuttings, with linear and quadratic adjustment for the variables analyzed. The seedlings of cuttings with 10cm and the concentration of 1500 mg L-1 IBA showed the highest percentage of rooting and the highest averages for length of the root system, number of shoots, fresh and dry weight of the shoots.
Cidró; cutting; growth regulator
