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SYNOPSIS
Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden is an economically important Eucalyptus species with a broad natural range in Australia and has been identified as a priority fuelwood plantation species in Lesotho. Unlike most eucalypts, E. nitens is a shy seed bearer. This study was aimed at propagating Eucalyptus nitens using stem cuttings. These were taken seasonally from an 11-year-old E. nitens stand and three-year-old stock plants. Cuttings were prepared in a factorial combination of four types of media (viz. peat, sand, vermiculite and a 1:1:1 mixture of the three) and two hormone dipping treatments (viz. no dipping and dipping in Seradix No. 3 rooting powder containing 0,8% IBA). In the last experiment, 0,2% IBA was used. Rooting performance was evaluated under glasshouse conditions using a warm bench propagation unit.
Adventitious root formation on cuttings of E. nitens was not effectively influenced by the application of IBA. Rooting of cuttings obtained from 11-year-old E. nitens decreased from 7% in February to 0% in November. Cuttings taken from three-year-old stock plants rooted better regardless of season, 30% and 56% rooting for March and September respectively. When the rooting media were assessed, no major differences were found for the cuttings from the 11-year-old stand. However, with the juvenile material the vermiculite-containing media, combined with the no dipping treatment, performed significantly better than the others.