Influence of Rooting Substrate and Cutting Type on Rooting of Cuttings in Schefflera arboricola L. Plants

Aims: Foliage plants production represents an important agricultural industry. Schefflera arboricola L. is an evergreen shrub in the family Araliaceae. The aim of the study was the evaluation of the effect of the substrate and the cutting type on the rooting process of schefflera.
Study Design: The rooting test of cuttings involved 2 factors (rooting substrate and type of cutting) randomized block design with 4 replications plot with 9 cuttings.
Place and Duration of Study: This trial was performed in the greenhouse of research Institute of Zabol University on May 2013.
Methodology: Applique rooting beds were consisting of: R1: 100% perlite, R2: 50% perlite+ 50% cocopeat and R3: 100% sand. Three sorts of cutting were used in the experiment with different types of cutting (D1:4-7 mm as softwood, D2:8-11mm as semi-hardwood and D3:12-15mm as hardwood cuttings) for study type of cutting effect on rooting of cuttings.
Results: The result of this test showed the effect of rooting substrate on all measured parameters (number of rooted cuttings, number of root in each cutting, total length, fresh and dry weight of roots) was significant; whiles the effect of type of cutting wasn’t significant on any characteristics. Interaction of rooting substrate and type of cutting was significant in 2 parameters (number of rooted cutting and number of root in each cutting). Perlite substrate was better than perlite-cocopeat and sand. Interaction of substrate and cutting type was significant between 3 substrates and 3 types of cutting, the best suitable treatment in interaction was for second type of cutting in perlite substrate, whiles it had significant difference to second type of cutting in perlite-cocopeat and sand substrate in number of rooted cuttings characteristics. So this trial eventuated that perlite substrate is better than the other substrates in rooting of schefflera cuttings in number of rooted cuttings, number of root in each cutting and length of roots.