Cuttings from 60 to 65-days old coppice from stumps of almon (Shorea almon), red lauan (S. negrosensis), mayapis (S. palosapis), tangile (S. polysperma), white lauan (S. contorta), and apitong (Dipterocarpus grandiflorus) were treated with various concentrations and combinations of different rooting hormones (6000 ppm IBA, 8000 ppm IBA, Rootone F, 8000 ppm IAA + 6000 ppm IBA, and 7000 ppm IAA + 7000 ppm IBA) and control (Paler and Alcober Jr., 1991).
Source of cuttings
Healthy and straight-bole trees of the different species with diameter range from 5 to 10 cm (in S. negrosensis, S. contorta, S. palosapis, S. polysperma, D. grandiflorus) and 16 to 18.5 cm (in S. almon) were selected for coppicing in a logged-over area. These trees were felled leaving a stump 1.3 meters high, painted on the cut surface with black paint to prevent fungal infection.
After 60 to 65 days from felling, coppice shoots on the stumps 20 to 40 cm long were harvested, placed in a container filled with water and transported immediately to the nursery. (It was observed that stumps with smaller diameters, 5 to 10 cm, continue to produce coppice even after four periods of harvesting). At the nursery, the bucket of coppice shoots was put in a shady place and continually irrigated manually by watering can while waiting for treatment.
Preparation and treatment of cuttings
Coppice shoots were cut, using a sharp pruning shear, into pieces with at least one to two pairs of leaves, depending on the length of the internodes. Leaf area was reduced to 60% in order to minimize excessive transpiration.
The cuttings were immersed in 200 ppm Benlate solution for 15 minutes to reduce fungal infection. Then, the bases of the cuttings were dipped into a powdered mixture of rooting hormones, and planted into subsoil-filled plastic dibble tubes.
Planted cuttings were placed in a partially closed propagation shed and subjected to intermittant mist spray.
Rooting success
Shorea almon cuttings treated with 8000 ppm IBA, Rootone F, and the control (no hormone) rooted to about 88%, 54% and 57%, respectively 60 to 63 days after planting.
After 85 days from planting, Shorea negrosensis cuttings treated with 6000 ppm IBA, 8000 ppm IBA, Rootone F, and the control rooted to about 63%, 50%, 46% and 40%, respectively. The relatively effective treatments to Shorea palosapis cuttings were 6000 ppm IBA (41% rooted) and 8000 ppm IBA (25% rooted). Cuttings started to develop roots 90 days after planting.
Cuttings of Shorea polysperma treated with 6000 ppm IBA and 8000 ppm IBA rooted to about 33%. The untreated cuttings rooted to about 22%. The cuttings developed roots 90 days after planting.
The treatment combinations of 8000 ppm IAA + 6000 ppm IBA and 7000 ppm IAA + 7000 ppm IBA applied to Shorea contorta cuttings resulted in rooting of about 15% and 10%, respectively, after 90 days from planting.
After 120 days from planting, Dipterocarpus grandiflorus cuttings had not developed any roots.
Hardening
Rooted cuttings were placed under a partially shaded (50% shade) area in the nursery until they were ready for outplanting. The rooted cuttings were subjected to gradual reduction in the amount of water supplied with corresponding gradual exposure to sunlight.
