Influence of Supporter Substrat on the Rooting Percentage of Kiwifruit Cuttings (Actinide Delicious Cv. Hayward)

The paper presents the influence of supporter substrate on rooting of greenwood and semi-hardwood cuttings of kiwifruit. The study was conducted during two consecutive years, 2013-2014, in a private greenhouse in Lezha, using two periods of taking cuttings: June 5, with greenwood cuttings, and September 5, with semi-hardwood cuttings. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two variants (in substrate
prelate-peat mix (60:40) and substrate prelate 100 %) and three replications, with a plot size of 100 vegetative cuttings for variant for each replication, was used. Vegetative cuttings were pre-treated with indol-3-butyric acid (IBA) 3000 ppm and were planted under controlled environmental conditions (air temperature 17-18oC, basal supporter temperature 22-26oC, and 80-85% RH). In June, the experimental greenhouse was shaded with a black mesh. Obtained results showed that greenwood and semi-hardwood cuttings of planted in substrate prelate-peat (60:40) rooted better than cuttings of planted in substrate only prelate, in both planting periods (52.4% versus 46%, and 63% versus 54%). The highest rooting percentages were achieved using semi-hardwood cuttings planted in September 5 on supporter polite-peat mix substrate (63%) and only polite (54%). Differences between variants were testified using LSD and statistical ANOVA-tests.