Repeated exposure of jacket plum (Pappea capensis) micro-cuttings to indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) improved in vitro rooting capacity

The objective of the trial was to determine an effective propagation protocol for jacket plum (Pappea capensis) tree species. Experiments on in vitro propagation and rooting of stem cuttings were carried out. Dipping stem cuttings in half strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) media for 12 h prior to application of rooting hormones improved bud break and prolonged survival of stem cuttings on a mist bed. Early leaf loss was observed for stem cuttings planted without MS treatment. However, rooting was poor (11% for cuttings pre-treated in MS and 0% for those not pre-treated). For micro-propagation, significant differences (P < 0.05) in shoot multiplication and root regeneration were found. MS media supplemented with 2.0 mg l–1 benzylaminopurine was superior in the number of micro-shoots produced. Rooting capacity of micro-cuttings was improved from 42% to 64% when MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg l–1 IBA were repeated for the micro-cuttings that initially failed to root. There was 70% survival rate of plantlets after hardened off.The financial support from the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation (BMZ/GTZ), Germany through the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southern Africa Regional Programme, Agro-Forest and Bio Energy Association and Invest North West, South Africa is acknowledged