Herbaceous and semi-hardwood cuttings of Aegiphila brachiata Vell. (Lamiaceae)

Abstract

Aegiphila brachiata Vell. (Lamiaceae), known as peloteiro, is a shrub-tree species native to Mata Atlântica from the southern region of Brazil, with a potential use for reforestation of degraded areas, as  food and as medicinal plant. However, there are few studies that elucidate its propagation, both sexual and asexual. In this study, we seek to elaborate a protocol for the vegetative propagation by cuttings of A. brachiata. For this, two experiments were installed: herbaceous cuttings (Experiment I) and semi-hard cuttings (Experiment II). The material was collected from 20 adult trees in Bocaiuva do Sul (Paraná, Brazil). Both experiments were collected in two seasons: spring (October/2019) and summer (January/2020). The cuttings were treated with different concentrations of indole butyric acid (IBA) (0 mg L^-1; 3000 mg L^-1; 6000 mg L^-1; 9000 mg L^-1; 12000 mg L^-1) and maintained during 60 days in a green house. The variables analyzed were: percentage of rooted cuttings, number and length of the three longer roots per cutting, percentage of cuttings alive, with callus, dead, with buds and maintenance of leaves. On Experiment I, the survival rate was 20%. A significant difference was observed in the seasons for callus formation, that was higher during summer (17.7% against 4,3% during spring). The application of IBA, under the studied conditions, did not lead to any significant difference in the analyzed variables. Experiment II showed 100% mortality. Therefore, it was not possible to determine a viable cutting protocol for Aegiphila brachiata due to the low rooting rate.