STAKES ROOTING OF ‘Biloxi’ BLUEBERRY (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) PLANTS

Abstract

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), native to North America, has become one of the most important fruit crops in Mexico and the world due to its hardiness, flavor, and health benefits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inductive capacity of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), salicylic acid (SAL), their combination, a Plantago spp. extract, and indolebutyric acid (IBA) in the rooting of semi-woody cuttings of ‘Biloxi’ blueberry. In a rooting chamber, 5 cm long cuttings with two apical leaves cut transversely were established and treated with different concentrations of NAA (0, 15, and 20 mg L^-1), SAL (0, 50, and 75 mg L^-1), and their combination, with three additional controls of Plantago spp. extract and IBA (4000 and 3000 mg L^-1). A completely randomized design with treatments in a factorial arrangement and three additional controls was used. No significant individual effects of NAA or SAL were detected. However, individual applications of 20 mg L^-1 of NAA and 75 mg L^-1 of SAL showed the best results for rooting percentage (93.75 %), number of first- (8.88 and 10.25) and second-order roots (72.38 and 65.13), length of first- (33.92 and 32.44 mm) and second-order roots (17.6 and 19.67 mm), and root volume (81.88 and 85.63 mm³). These results were statistically equivalent to the 4000 and 3000 mg L^-1 concentrations of IBA. In contrast, the combination of NAA and SAL, as well as the plant extract, resulted in low values in all the variables evaluated.