The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the antioxidants ascorbic acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in the rooting of mini-cuttings for three clones of Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis. Mini-cuttings were gathered from a mini-clonal hedge which had been cultivated in concrete ducts containing washed sand. Five concentrations of each antioxidant were experimentally tested on each of the three clones (C1, C2 and C3). Assessments were done of mini-cutting survival and rooting rates when leaving the greenhouse and the shade house, as well as seedling survival and growth at age 50 days. Ascorbic acid was found to be beneficial to the mini-cuttings of the clone with a lower rooting percentage (C3), whereas PVP was found to be unbeneficial to the clones being studied.
Mini-cutting technique; antioxidants; clonal forestry