ABSTRACT
"Yerba mate" is well know for its use as an infusion, either as tea or "chimarrão". However, there are many other potential applications for this species, mainly in the cosmetic and drug industries. One limiting factor to the commercial vegetative propagation of "Yerba mate" is the lack of efficient methods of rejuvenation for mature plants. Juvenile propagules can be obtained by stem girdling or coppicing of mature trees. The main objective of this work was to verify the rooting ability of cuttings from 12 months old sprouts, generated after girdling and coppicing of 17 years and 80 years old trees, during winter/2006 and summer/2007 and treated with indolbutiric acid (IBA) with two concentrations of 0 and 3000 mg.L-1. Planting was made in plastic containers filled with vermiculite and carbonized rice bark, in a 1:1 ratio and after 90 days in the greenhouse, the following variables were evaluated: percentage of cuttings with roots, average number of roots per cutting, length of the three longest roots per cutting and percentage of alive cuttings, with callus and dead. Results showed that rooting was not influenced by the origin of sprouts (girdling or coppicing). However, branches obtained by more juvenile trees, as well as those collected during summer, presented better results. Thus was concluded that stem cuttings with branches from girdling or coppicing is a viable technique to optimize rooting of "Yerba mate" cuttings.
Keywords:
Ilex paraguariensis; Indolbutiric Acid; Rooting; Maturation; Reinvigoration
