Diferentes substratos e ambientes para enraizamento de mini-ixora (Ixora coccinea 'Compacta')

Abstract

The mini-ixora (Ixora coccinea 'Compacta') is a species highly appreciated for use in tropical gardens. Its propagation is made by cutting, however, its rooting percentage is very low so, the aim of this work was to evaluate substrates and environments for the mini-ixora rooting. Apical cuttings with 10 cm of length were used in two substrates: sand and Plantmax®. Three rooting environments were used: wet chamber, greenhouse and conventional rooting (shade cloth with 50% of shade). The experiment was carried out by using split plots with three different environments in the main plot and two substrates in the subplots. One also used five replications and ten cuttings per plot. Analyzing the results one hundred days after the experiment implantation one noticed that the sand had proportioned higher percentage of rooting (68%) compared to Plantmax (48%). The wet chamber also was the environment that provided better conditions for the propagation of the mini-ixora, with the highest percentage of rooting, 98%, compared to the greenhouse, 66% and to the conventional rooting, 10%. Moreover, sand and wet chamber also provided a better root quality. One concluded that the best substrate for mini-ixora propagation was sand and the cuttings should be placed in the wet chamber.