Vegetative rescue of Melanopsidium nigrum Colla via induction of adventitious roots

Cloning Melanopsidium nigrum mature trees from detached older branches by cutting is an important tool to conserve the species as it is listed as vulnerable to extinction. We selected sixty-four mother trees, and ten to fifteen branches from each mother tree were used to make cuttings (n = 822) which were maintained in a greenhouse. Half of the cuttings were treated with indole-3-butyric acid (6000 mg.Kg-1), applied as a powder conjugated with talc at the base of the cutting. At 120 days after cutting, some cuttings were alive and rooted, corresponding to a production index of 9.5% and 7.3% for cuttings from the control treatment and treated with auxin, respectively. This work is pioneer in studying the adventitious rooting of M. nigrum, and has demonstrated the possibility of propagation of this species through this technique.

Automated summary

This study successfully cloned Melanopsidium nigrum through cutting propagation, providing an effective method for its conservation.