Baccharis vulneraria (Asteraceae) cuttings in different substrates

Abstract

The objective of the study was to identify the most suitable substrate and type of cutting to obtain seedlings from Baccharis vulneraria Baker cuttings. Apical and stem cuttings were collected from stock plants grown in a greenhouse. After collection, the cuttings were grown in the following substrates: commercial peat-based substrate (CPS); Vermiculite (VM); carbonized rice husk (CRH); Coconut fiber (CF); VM and CRH (1:1) (VM + CRH); VM and CF (1:1) (VM + CF); and CRH and CF (1:1) (CRH + CF) mixtures. The experiment used a completely randomized factorial design and, after 60 days, the percentage of survival and rooting (% SR), aerial part length (APL) and roots length (RSL), number of shoots (SN) and new leaves (LN), root volume (RSV), aerial part dry mass (APDM), and roots dry mass (RSDM) were evaluated. An interaction was found between the type of substrate and cutting for APL, RSL, LN, RSV, and RSM. On the other hand, %SR, SN and APDM differed only by cutting type. Apical cuttings showed higher APL, while internode cuttings showed higher SN, LN, RSV, and APDM. CPS promoted higher RSL in both types of cuttings, being a suitable option for the propagation of Baccharis vulneraria, particularly in internode cuttings.