It is known from popular tradition that extracts from nut grass increase the adventitious rooting of different species, being this procedure used in home-made vegetative propagation. Since in these extracts it is possible to find a large amount of auxins and phenolic compounds, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Cypreus rotundus L. leaves and tubers extracts in stem cuttings of Duranta repens L., a species considered of easy rooting, in comparison with the action of synthetic auxins. Cuttings were collected in april, june, august, october and december/2006 and february/2007 with 8 cm in length, diagonal cut at the bottom and a straight cut above the last bud, keeping four upper leaves. Treatments consisted of control (water and ethanol 50%); extract from C. rotundus leaves and tubers (25, 50 and 100%); NAA and IBA (500 and 1000 mg L-1), with immersion of the base of the cuttings for 10 seconds. Cuttings were kept in greenhouse under high moisture, in plastic containers containing vermiculite, for 45 days. The percentage of rooted cuttings, number of roots per cutting, length of the three longest roots per cutting (cm) and the percentage of living cuttings were evaluated. Cuttings collected in october and december/2006 demonstrated the highest percentages of rooting (87.3% and 86.7%, respectively) and highest number of roots per cutting (9.5 and 10.4 roots, respectively). December/2006 cuttings showed the maximum length of the three largest roots (10.2 cm) and the best level of survival (60%) was found in cuttings collected in june/2006 and treated with 500 and 1000 mg L-1 of IBA. Therefore, we observed no statistical differences between the application of C. rotundus leaf and tuber extracts and the application of NAA and IBA.
rooting; nut grass; golden dewdrop; IBA; NAA
