Assessing Nursery Performance of Clonal Eucalyptus Cuttings that have Undergone Different Time Duration Treatments Before Insertion.pdf

Hybrid clonal technology can radically change the way in which Eucalyptus plants are selected and grown. It offers a means of producing planting materials with highly desirable growth characteristics. Propagation by cuttings is the main tool in Eucalyptus breeding programs by which it is possible to multiply the Eucalyptus trees quickly as well as retaining the parental plant characteristics. This doesn’t occur under natural conditions, it is therefore affected by different factors such as rooting media, nature and management of cuttings, which should be manipulated appropriately to get increased nursery output.

This study was conducted at NTSC, to determine the best time duration within which cutting insertion should be done. Three eucalyptus hybrids were considered i.e. GC796, GC796/2 and GU7. 150 cuttings were used for each clonal type, with 50 cuttings for each of a 60-minute difference time treatment. 50-cutting batches for each of the three clones were inserted at 60, 120, and 180 minutes respectively after harvesting.