Interaction of IBA and Bio-Fertilizer on Rooting of Eucalyptus Cuttings

The use of cuttings is one of the propagation techniques for Eucalyptus cloning. In this regard, cuttings of this plant root not simply and need usually some special hormonal treatments. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the involvement between auxin and fertilization method in rooting process of Eucalyptus cuttings. In the present work, the influence of IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) and bio-fertilizers on root initiation of Eucalyptus cuttings was investigated. A completely randomized design was adopted in a factorial experiment with five levels of IBA (0, 500, 1000,2000 and 4000 ppm) and four levels of bio-fertilizer (1- Barvar2 + half mineral fertilizer, 2- Nitroxin + half mineral fertilizer, 3-half mineral fertilizer and 4- complete mineral fertilizer) with five replications. The traits including: root number, root length, root fresh weight, root dry weight and rooting percentage were measured. Results showed a significant increasing in the trait expression using bio-fertilizers compared to using chemical fertilizer.The interaction between bio-fertilizer and IBA were significant for all investigated traits so that the application of relatively low doses of IBA concentration (500 ppm) with bio-fertilizers led to the greatest root dry weight and consequently, thicker roots were produced. Relatively high doses of auxin IBA concentration (2000 ppm) combined with bio-fertilizers resulted to the highest percentage of root initiation in cuttings. IBA concentration of 500 ppm caused increment in means of root dry and fresh weight. Thicker roots were produced, consequently. In spite of thicker roots, it was decreased risk of stock movement. The interaction between IBA 2000 ppm with both bio-fertilizers increased in rooting percentage. Therefore, these components with hormones enhance rooting capacity.