What trees and shrubs can be propagated by cuttings. New elements in the technology of propagating garden plants using green cuttings

Garden - do it yourself

Cuttings- this is one of the methods of vegetative propagation, which allows you to grow almost any plant from its vegetative part (shoot) without special material and physical costs and in a relatively short time.

As for woody plants, they are propagated mainly by stem cuttings and only partly (in scanty amounts) by root cuttings. It should be noted that stem cuttings of the vast majority of woody plants take root with difficulty under normal conditions. Therefore, in large nurseries, and even in private farmsteads specializing in the production of planting material, it is impossible to do without a fogging installation. This irrigation system, in combination with a greenhouse covered with film, allows you to maintain optimal conditions necessary for rooting cuttings, namely: high stable air humidity combined with moderate soil moisture. In addition to this installation, nowadays, in order to obtain high-quality planting material, they are increasingly resorting to the use of growth stimulants, in a solution of which the cuttings are soaked before planting in the greenhouse.

The method of propagation by green cuttings is now gaining more and more popularity and is already becoming one of the main ones in ornamental gardening. For cutting cuttings, special queen cells are created, consisting of mother plants, which are used only for cutting cuttings from them. The most productive age of mother plants is considered to be from 5 to 10 years of life; as for plants that are difficult to root, cuttings are taken from them when they reach 2-3 years of age.

Since all plants are biologically different organisms, the most optimal period for cutting green cuttings is also different for them. And its identification is an important condition for obtaining good planting material.

In central Russia, the most optimal period for cutting green cuttings of deciduous trees is the end of May - the beginning of June.

If the timing of cuttings is observed, the formation of roots is much better, and this also saves the shoots themselves. If you delay the deadlines and start green cuttings later, then a significant part of the shoots (almost a third) due to their lignification are no longer used.

Cuttings of chokeberry, rowan and viburnum (from bottom to top)

The best time for green cuttings of varietal lilacs and mock oranges occurs during their flowering, but it should be remembered that cuttings cannot be taken from shoots that have flowers or flower buds.

However, the cutting period is not always associated with the flowering period; for many other species and forms of deciduous trees, the most favorable time is the period of intensive shoot growth. A little later - at the very end of May, you can cut cuttings from barberry, euonymus, buddleia, weigela, wolfberry, hydrangea, honeysuckle, cinquefoil, viburnum, dogwood, broom, rhododendron and gum. You will not be late with cuttings of these crops even if you start collecting cuttings in the first ten days of June.

As for conifers, there are two periods: the first usually occurs at the very end of April or the beginning of May, even before the buds begin to swell. For example, at this time shoots of western thuja, spruce, fir and juniper are harvested. The second period for cuttings of conifers is in the summer, when the shoots finish their active growth, usually from mid-June to mid-July. Among the plants there are also those that give an extremely low percentage of rooting even if all cutting technology is followed. Such plants include most conifers and maples, as well as oak, linden, and birch; Among shrub plants, shrubby and blueberry roots do not form well.

So, having decided on the timing of cuttings, let’s proceed to the operation itself.

Let's start with cutting the cuttings: the shoots are ready to be cut into cuttings when they are still quite flexible and the bark is green; they should not make a crunch when bent. In most species of woody plants, cuttings are taken only from the middle part of the shoot, and the upper part that is too soft is also discarded, as is the lower part that is too lignified. If a cutting is cut from the upper part of a shoot of deciduous and coniferous trees (apical cutting), then the bud located at the top is left on the cutting.

As for the time for cutting cuttings, early morning or a cloudy day is considered optimal. This minimizes evaporation from the cuttings. In addition to cutting time, evaporation can also be reduced by shortening the leaf blade by about half. Then the cut cuttings are placed with their lower ends in a vessel with water or in a phytohormone solution.

For successful root formation, the length of the cutting and its thickness are also very important. Very thin cuttings are undesirable because they root poorly, but the length of the cutting directly depends on the size of the internodes. If the internodes on the shoot are short, then cuttings are cut with 3-4 internodes, and from shoots with long nodes, cuttings with two internodes are usually obtained. On average, the length of green cuttings ranges from 3 to 12 centimeters. It should be remembered that cuttings that are too long take root worse. Also, fattening shoots should not be taken for cuttings. For example, in viburnum they are very easy to distinguish from normal shoots; they are, as a rule, much thicker than ordinary annual growths and have larger leaves.

Cutting technology from shoots is simple: holding the prepared shoot in the air, cut shoots from it with a sharp knife. Usually the upper cut of the cutting is made straight; this is done to reduce the evaporating surface. It is better to perform it directly above the kidney. But the lower cut must be made obliquely and 0.5-1 cm below the base of the bud - preferably on the opposite side. The lower leaves from the cuttings must be removed. How many leaves should be left? Here are a few examples: for viburnum it is enough to leave one whole and half a leaf at the top of the cutting, for serviceberry - 2-3 leaves, for rowan - 1.5 leaves, for currants, gooseberries, bird cherry, honeysuckle and other similar crops - 2 leaves.

The cut cuttings must be immediately placed in a container with water or a phytohormone dissolved in it. As for cuttings of coniferous plants, such as pine, spruce or larch, they must be kept in water for 2-3 hours. This must be done because a resin is released on the cut surface of the cuttings, which prevents the absorption of water from the substrate after planting. Before planting such cuttings, it is necessary to update the cut. It is also advisable to make a longitudinal split of the base to a depth of one centimeter on cuttings of coniferous plants, to facilitate root formation. This is done so that a larger surface of the cambium is exposed, and its cells can more easily form roots.

A few words should be said about the substrate itself. It consists of a mixture of peat and sand, usually in a ratio of 1:1, less often - 1:2; sometimes a mixture of peat with vermiculite or a mixture of peat with perlite in equal parts is used as a substrate.

Cuttings are planted usually in the morning, especially in large greenhouses. It is impossible to carry out any work in them at noon due to the heat. Place the cuttings in the ground vertically, while pressing the substrate tightly around them. The planting depth largely depends on the size of the cutting, as well as the plant species. Cuttings of berry and fruit crops are planted to a depth of 1–1.5 centimeters, and cuttings of ornamental shrubs – to a depth of 2.5 centimeters. The distance between cuttings in rows is left equal to 4-7 centimeters, and between rows - 5-10 centimeters. In ordinary greenhouses, immediately after planting, the cuttings are watered through a fine sieve and covered with a frame; in large greenhouses, a fogging installation is turned on.

The optimal temperature for rooting cuttings of most tree species is 20...25°C. As for difficult-to-root crops, it is important for them that the soil temperature is 3-5 degrees higher than the air temperature.

Cuttings planted in small greenhouses are watered, usually 5-6 times a day, in cloudy weather - somewhat less frequently; in large greenhouses, fog-forming installations have a time relay that operates several times an hour in order to maintain high air humidity in the building.

Soon after the cuttings are planted, callus begins to form on them, and then roots. Usually, cuttings planted in late May - early June can be transplanted for growing in mid-September.

I wish you all success!

Nikolay Khromov,
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences,
Researcher,
Department of Berry Crops of the State Scientific Institution VNIIS named after. I.V. Michurina,
member of the NIRR Academy

Unlike propagation by lignified cuttings, the green cuttings method makes it possible to obtain rooted plants of a much wider range of crops.

Since many species in which lignified cuttings are not capable of developing adventitious roots, take root well at the stage of green and semi-lignified shoots.

Propagation by green cuttings has been known for a long time. It has long been practiced in floriculture for cloning crops such as carnations, phlox, chrysanthemum, dahlias, geraniums, etc. But after the discovery of growth regulators - auxins and the creation of artificial fog systems, this method gained a strong position in fruit and berry nursery farming.

The timing of green cuttings depends on the phase of shoot development. For stone fruit crops (cherry, plum, peach), the most successful is green cuttings in the phase of intensive shoot growth, which is characterized by rapid growth, green color of the bark and weak lignification of the lower part of the shoot. In the middle zone, this phase usually occurs in the first half of June.

For crops such as apple trees, quinces, gooseberries, lemons, and the like, the best timing occurs at the end of the growth phase, when the shoots become semi-lignified and the bark partially turns brown.

Crops characterized by high root-forming ability, for example, sea buckthorn, black and red currants, can be cut in both phases.

Practice has established that root formation processes occur more actively in tissues lacking chlorophyll. Bleaching of fabrics is carried out in the absence of light. Therefore, in order to bleach parts of the stem of young shoots, it is recommended to install light insulators made of black film or paint the bark with black oil paint based on soot. As a rule, every second internode on the shoots of the mother plant is subjected to bleaching.

Film light insulators about one and a half centimeters wide are wrapped around the internodes and secured with adhesive tape. Black paint is also applied to the internodes in a ring 1.5 centimeters wide. The paint must be thinned only with natural drying oil without turpentine.

Two weeks after light isolation, the shoots are cut and cuttings are cut from them. For each cutting, the bleached internode should be the bottom one. The lower leaf of the cutting is removed, and the upper leaf blade is cut in half.

Moist sand is poured in a layer of 5 centimeters on top of the nutrient soil in the nursery. The bases of the cuttings are treated with a growth substance and immersed in sand to the level of the petiole of the top leaf. The nursery is covered with a transparent film and, during the daytime, the air humidity in it is maintained close to one hundred percent by constant frequent spraying. Rooting is carried out within 25 - 40 days.

The most effective technology for propagating blue honeysuckle plants is propagation by green cuttings. In the conditions of the Central Black Earth region of Russia, this method of propagation for honeysuckle has not been developed. The optimal elements of green cuttings, the layout of cuttings, and the conditions for their successful rooting have not been determined. These recommendations allow you to use highly effective methods for accelerated propagation of blue honeysuckle under production conditions.

The success of green cuttings of honeysuckle largely depends on cultivation structures, the presence of drainage, substrate preparation and the quality of watering. It is recommended to root green cuttings in a film greenhouse TPV 10.1.11-86. The soil in the area where the greenhouse is installed must be well drained to remove excess moisture. The thickness of the soil for root formation is 30 cm, the organomineral soil consists of a mixture of peat and other organic materials with the addition of mineral components. To maintain optimal air and soil moisture conditions, fine-drip irrigation should be used using fogging units. The watering regime should ensure the constant presence of small drops of water on the leaves. The soil at a depth of 15-20 cm should be well moistened. Rooting conditions: top layer of substrate 10 cm deep - sand, relative air humidity 90 - 95%, maximum air temperature 35-36 0C (optimum 25-30 0C), soil 28-30 0C (optimum 22-25 0C). The cuttings size is 12-15 cm, planting depth is 4-5 cm.

Green cuttings are cut from the mother plant during the phase of fading shoot growth on the mother plants. For honeysuckle, this period visually coincides with the appearance of the first ripe berries; for the Tambov region - approximately from June 5 to June 15. Plants in the mother plant and in the propagation area are cared for in accordance with technological maps for growing mother plants and cuttings.

Harvesting of shoots should be carried out in the early morning, when the tissues of the stems and leaves are most watered. The shoots are carefully placed in plastic bags and quickly delivered to the cutting site. Leaves on cut shoots have low water-holding capacity and lose turgor in a short period. Leaves that have lost turgor have difficulty restoring it, which negatively affects the process of root formation. Branching shoots and renewal shoots should be used as green cuttings.

The cuttings must be prepared as follows. Using a sharpened knife, an oblique cut is made at a distance of 1.5 cm under the lower pair of buds of the first internode at an angle of 45° to the shoot axis. The second cut - at an angle of 90° - is made above the upper pair of buds at a distance of 1 cm. Before planting, the lower pair of leaves is removed with a knife or pruning shears. If the shoot internodes are shorter than 7 cm, cuttings are prepared from two internodes, removing two pairs of leaves and leaving the third - the upper one. The cuttings are tied into bundles, to which a label is attached indicating the variety and the number of cuttings in the bundle.

If production conditions limit the possibility of cuttings at the specified optimal times, as well as when simultaneously cutting varieties with different degrees of maturity of annual shoots, rooting stimulants should be used, such as IMC, Kornevin and others. To soak in a solution of rooting stimulants, the cuttings are placed in wooden boxes lined with plastic film or plastic cuvettes at least 10 cm high. The working solution is poured into the bottom of the box or cuvette in a layer of 2 - 4 cm. The bunches are immersed with their lower ends in the working solution. It is necessary to ensure that the lower sections of the cuttings are at the same level and are all located in the working solution.

Treatment of cuttings with aqueous solutions of rooting regulators is carried out as follows. To prepare the working solution, a sample of the rooting stimulant preparation is first dissolved in a small amount of hot water (50 - 100 ml). If the drug has dissolved, bring the solution to the required volume and pour it into the box. Aqueous solutions are not stable, so they are prepared immediately before use.

To prepare an alcohol solution, take a sample, dissolve it in a small amount of 96% ethyl alcohol, then add water to the required volume to obtain a 50% alcohol solution. The solution is prepared in glass or porcelain containers with a capacity of 150 - 500 ml. Since alcohol evaporates easily, the solution should be stored in a tightly closed container, in the dark at a low temperature.

The prepared alcohol solution is poured into a small jar with a layer of 2 - 3 cm, and the cuttings are immersed in it with their lower ends; kept for 10 seconds and immediately planted in the greenhouse.

To treat cuttings with growth powder, the latter layer of 0.5 - 1 cm is poured into a flat-bottomed cup or box. The cuttings are processed immediately after cutting and immediately planted for rooting in grooves previously made with a marker.

The mode of fine spraying with water in the first three weeks lasts 5-10 seconds with an interval of 15-30 minutes from 7 to 20 hours daily with a break at night. This ensures a constant presence of water on the leaves; the soil at a depth of 15-20 cm is well moistened. After the first roots appear (in early July), the frequency of watering should be reduced, and the duration of the period without watering should be increased (3-5 minutes after 1-1.5 hours).

Starting from mid-July, it is necessary to harden the rooted cuttings by ventilating the greenhouse. At the end of August - beginning of September, the greenhouse is completely freed from the film.

Rooted cuttings are dug up at the end of September and beginning of October.

After digging the cuttings, the rooted plants were assessed according to the method of V.I. Budagovsky (1959) (the diameter of the growth in cm, the height of the plants in cm, the condition of the root system in points were taken into account):

1 point - there are no roots on the plant;

2 points - unsatisfactory rooting (1-2 weak roots or only their rudiments);

3 points - satisfactory rooting (3-4 roots);

4 points - good rooting (plants have a large number of large and small roots);

5 points - rooting is very good (many densely located large and small roots emerge from the cuttings).

The rooting rate of cuttings is found from the ratio of the number of rooted cuttings to the number of planted ones and is expressed in %.

Analyzing the works of F.G. Belosokhov, I was able to learn a lot of interesting things about the history of honeysuckle as a valuable food crop. This is what the first image of a branch with blue honeysuckle fruits looked like, made by the French naturalist C. Clusius in 1583 (Fig. 3):

Figure 3. The first image of honeysuckle made by C. Clusius.

Honeysuckle, as a valuable berry plant, became known about 300 years ago after the first explorers and scientists penetrated into Eastern Siberia and the Far East (Plekhanova, 1982). The first information about the honeysuckle plant is found in the “Skaski” of the Russian explorer V.V. Atlasov, who made a campaign in Kamchatka in 1697-1699 (Berg, 1946). Many researchers noted the good taste of Kamchatka honeysuckle berries (Krashennikov, 1818). The population of Eastern Siberia and the Far East has long been harvesting honeysuckle berries for drying and making jam (Batalin, 1894; Branke, 1935).

Initially, interest in honeysuckle was caused by its decorative properties (Zaitsev, 1962). As a berry plant, T.D. was introduced into culture. Mauritz in Nerchinsk in 1884 (Mauritz, 1892; Evreinoff, 1940). Abroad, in 1910-1915 it was introduced into cultivation by farmers in northeastern Canada (Fernald, 1925).

For about 170 years, there has been a discussion about edible honeysuckle as a valuable plant for introduction into culture. Moreover, by edible honeysuckle they often meant what we now refer to as the species Kamchatka honeysuckle, Turchaninov’s honeysuckle and edible honeysuckle itself (Gidzyuk, 1978). I.V. Michurin named edible honeysuckle among the most valuable fruit and berry plants of exceptional interest for breeding, and called on the country's gardeners, producers and scientists to introduce it into the gardens of the northern regions and widely use it in breeding to create valuable varieties (Albensky, Antonov , Bakharev et al., 1949).

Such qualities of the crop as winter hardiness and early fruit ripening also attracted the attention of foreign authors (Evreinoff, 1940; Zylka, 1969).

Systematic selection of honeysuckle began in 1950-1960. at the Pavlovskaya (Teterev, 1983, 1975, 1953; Chestnaya, 1972) and Far Eastern (Bochkarnikova, 1972, 1978) experimental stations of the VIR, at the All-Russian Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia (Luchnik, 1966; Zholobova, 1985) and at the Bachkarsky stronghold of this institute in Tomsk region (Gidzyuk, 1981, 1978; Tkacheva, Savinkova, 1989).

The main advantages of honeysuckle are early ripening (on average 7-10 days earlier than strawberries) and high content of P-active substances. The total content of P-active substances (catechins, rutin, anthocyanins, leukoanthocyanins, etc.) ranges from 600 to 1800 mg/100g; in terms of their quantity, edible honeysuckle is second only to chokeberry. The amount of ascorbic acid in fruits reaches 90 - 130 mg/100g, which is more than in strawberries, raspberries, and gooseberries (Plekhanova, 1984). The accumulation of ascorbic acid in honeysuckle fruits varies depending on climatic conditions, fertilizer application, fruit harvest time, botanical species and other factors (Gidzyuk, 1978).

Honeysuckle fruits contain dry substances - 10-19%, sugars - 3-13%, pectin substances - 1.1-1.6%, minerals - 0.4-0.9%, acids - 1.0-3. 0% dry weight; vitamins (mg%): C - 20-50, P - 400-1500, incl. catechins - 250-800, anthocyanins - 400-1500, leukoanthocyanins - 100-500 (Ermakov, 1992).

In small quantities, honeysuckle berries accumulate vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, provitamin A (carotene): B1 - 2.8-3.8, B2 - 2.5-3.8, B9 - 7.2-10, 2, carotenoids - 0.05-0.32 mg%. Microelements include potassium, iron, iodine, manganese, and copper.

Honeysuckle is very unpretentious in cultivation. It grows and bears fruit even on poor soils, does not require much care, is extremely frost-resistant (tolerates very low temperatures - minus 500 and below), the flowers can withstand frosts down to - 5 - 70C. In urban conditions, it is gas-resistant, blooms and bears fruit annually both in the northern regions and the south of the country, and is decorative during the flowering and fruiting period. No dangerous diseases or pests have yet been observed on honeysuckle plants with edible fruits.

Honeysuckle berries have long been used in folk medicine as a capillary-strengthening agent for hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, malaria, and indigestion. The berries are used as dessert and for processing into jam, juices, compotes, and wine. An infusion of honeysuckle leaves is also used in medicine. The leaves of wild honeysuckle are readily eaten by sheep, goats, deer, and wapiti; the berries serve as food for birds, and the dense bushes are convenient for nesting. Honeysuckle berries are suitable for making pink and purple dye, and the leaves are yellow.

Honeysuckle is a good honey plant, providing nectar and pollen to pollinating insects. Nectar release per flower reaches 0.3 - 0.4 mg. The special value of honeysuckle as a honey plant is that it blooms very early, when there are few other honey plants; and bees often still have to be fed at this time (Gidzyuk, 1978).

Honeysuckle has high ecological plasticity, adapting to existence in a wide variety of ecological and geographical conditions.

Honeysuckle fruits are varied in shape and taste, have a rich biochemical composition and are known for their healing properties.

Having a color from light blue to dark blue, covered with a bluish waxy coating, honeysuckle fruits are varied not only in taste, but also in shape (Fig. 4):

Figure 4. Shapes of edible honeysuckle fruits.

The taste of honeysuckle fruits is provided by sugars, non-volatile organic acids, and bitter substances.

Nowadays, more than 100 varieties of honeysuckle have been bred in Russia, which are of great interest to amateur gardeners.

To begin the growing season, honeysuckle varieties require the sum of positive temperatures +32...+48 0С, the beginning of flowering +180...+2460С, berry ripening +600...+7800С (Belosokhov, 1993; Zhidekhina, 1998).

Honeysuckle is one of the most frost-resistant plants. In Siberian conditions, it can withstand frosts down to -520C. Buds and flowers are slightly damaged even at -6-70C (Zakotin, 2004). However, it reacts poorly to long warm autumns and prolonged winter thaws. These conditions provoke the beginning of the growing season and untimely flowering.

But even despite this, honeysuckle is currently a favorite crop of amateur gardeners. Cultivation of honeysuckle in school plots is also promising, since earlier ripening of the berries will make it possible to diversify the school diet of students with high-quality vitamin products.

However, the slow increase in the economic productivity of plantations requires more dense planting patterns in school plots, which in turn requires a large amount of planting material. And this necessitates the development of effective methods for accelerated propagation of planting material.

One of the well-known, fairly accessible and cost-effective methods is the green cutting method. It has been well developed and has been found to be very effective in the early stages of shoot growth when applied to honeysuckle. However, at these stages the length of the shoots is insignificant, which significantly reduces the possible number of cuttings that can be taken for rooting. In this regard, we set ourselves the goal of identifying the possibility and effectiveness of cuttings at later stages of vegetation.

As a result of our research, we found that with early cuttings, honeysuckle has a high percentage of rooting. (Fig. 5).

Figure 5. Percentage of honeysuckle rooting with early cuttings and the use of stimulants.

At the same time, delaying cutting cuttings leads to a sharp decrease in the percentage of rooting. Thus, on average for 17 varieties, the rooting percentage was 64.6875%. The reproduction rate ranged from 40% to 100%. Varietal differences were quite significant (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Percentage of rooting of honeysuckle with late cuttings using stimulants.

The highest percentage of rooting was observed in the Tomichka variety. The Lazurnaya variety was not far behind it. The Pervenets variety showed the lowest percentage of rooting.

For clarity, photographs taken by the student personally are presented. They show the root systems of some varieties of honeysuckle. See fig.

Growth regulators provided different efficiency of root formation (Table 1)

As a result of the research, at late cuttings, the highest percentage of rooting was observed in the Tomichka variety when using Kornevin.

In Fig. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 show photographs of the root systems of some varieties of honeysuckle.

Figure 7. Variety Early. Figure 8. Variety Vasyuganskaya.

Figure 9. Variety Blue spindle. Figure 10. Variety Berel.

Figure 11. Variety Kamchadalka Figure 12. Variety Blue Bird.

Figure 13. Lazurnaya variety.

Green cutting method became possible with the use of cultivation structures (greenhouses, tents, greenhouses), artificial fog installations and physiologically active substances.

Green cuttings in the Middle Volga region are carried out in the second or third ten days of June. Depending on the weather conditions of the year, the timing of cuttings may vary. To cut cuttings, use the current year's growth. The shoots are harvested early in the morning, cuttings 8-12 cm long are cut with a sharp knife or pruning shears. Cuts on the cuttings are made 0.5-1 cm below the bud. The bottom sheet is removed.

Use cuttings with 2-3 leaves. They are tied into bundles (50 pieces each) - so that the lower sections are at the same level. To enhance root formation, cuttings are treated with indolylbutyric acid at a concentration of 25-50 mg/l or heteroauxin at a concentration of 50-75 mg/l. The cuttings are kept in the solution for 12-16 hours at a temperature of +22°...+25°C. The leaf blades of the cuttings should not touch the solution, otherwise they will burn. After this, the cuttings are planted for rooting. Various substrates are used for rooting, but pure sand is more technologically advanced and cheaper. Greenhouses must have good drainage.
The greenhouses are prepared as follows: a frame is made, crushed stone is poured into it with a layer of 15-20 cm, then humus soil 25-30 cm thick and sand on top - a layer of 2-3 cm. The cuttings are planted to a depth of 1.5-2 cm according to scheme 8 -10 cm between rows and 5-7 cm in a row. Carefully ensure that the leaf blades are moist at all times, otherwise the cuttings will wither and dry out.

The rooting period for green cuttings of cherries, plums, apples, pears and their clonal rootstocks lasts from 30 to 45 days, depending on the ability of the variety or rootstock to root. The rootstocks of stone fruit and pome crops are rooted by 80-90%, grapes, sea buckthorn, currants and gooseberries - by 70-80%. Cherry cuttings of varieties Karmaleevskaya and Rastunya. Raspletka, plums - Eurasia 21, Skorospelka red, Mirnaya, Zhiguli, Renklod Liya root by 60-80%. In cuttings of cherries Finaevskaya, Dessertnaya Volzhskaya, Large-fruited Volzhskaya, plums - Pamyat Finaevskaya, Ternosliva Kuibyshevskaya, Svetlana, the rooting rate is 20-50%.

To enhance growth and improve the development of cuttings, carry out 1-2 root feedings with nitroammophos or crystalline (at the rate of 30 g per bucket of water) with an interval of 15-20 days. The film is removed in mid-summer and the rooted plants are hardened off. Plants are left in greenhouses for the winter, covered with a small layer of peat, spruce branches or sawdust. They should be opened again early in the spring, otherwise the plants will stagnate. They are dug up in the fall. Standard seedlings up to 1-1.2 m high and a trunk thickness of 1.2-1.5 cm are planted in the garden, non-standard ones are grown for another year. Rooted cuttings of clonal rootstocks are dug up and used for

Green cutting method Unlike propagation by lignified cuttings, the green cutting method makes it possible to obtain rooted plants of a much wider range of crops. Since many species in which lignified cuttings are not capable of developing adventitious roots, take root well at the stage of green and semi-lignified shoots. Propagation by green cuttings has been known for a long time. It has long been practiced in floriculture for cloning crops such as carnations, phlox, chrysanthemum, dahlias, geraniums, etc. But after the discovery of growth regulators - auxins and the creation of artificial fog systems, this method gained a strong position in fruit and berry nursery farming. The timing of green cuttings depends on the phase of shoot development. For stone fruit crops (cherry, plum, peach), the most successful is green cuttings in the phase of intensive shoot growth, which is characterized by rapid growth, green color of the bark and weak lignification of the lower part of the shoot. In the middle zone, this phase usually occurs in the first half of June. For crops such as apple trees, quinces, gooseberries, lemons, and the like, the best timing occurs at the end of the growth phase, when the shoots become semi-lignified and the bark partially turns brown. Crops characterized by high root-forming ability, for example, sea buckthorn, black and red currants, can be cut in both phases. Practice has established that root formation processes occur more actively in tissues lacking chlorophyll. Bleaching of fabrics is carried out in the absence of light. Therefore, in order to bleach parts of the stem of young shoots, it is recommended to install light insulators made of black film or paint the bark with black oil paint based on soot. As a rule, every second internode on the shoots of the mother plant is subjected to bleaching. Film light insulators about one and a half centimeters wide are wrapped around the internodes and secured with adhesive tape. Black paint is also applied to the internodes in a ring 1.5 centimeters wide. The paint must be thinned only with natural drying oil without turpentine. Two weeks after light isolation, the shoots are cut and cuttings are cut from them. For each cutting, the bleached internode should be the bottom one. The lower leaf of the cutting is removed, and the upper leaf blade is cut in half. Moist sand is poured in a layer of 5 centimeters on top of the nutrient soil in the nursery. The bases of the cuttings are treated with a growth substance and immersed in sand to the level of the petiole of the top leaf. The nursery is covered with a transparent film and, during the daytime, the air humidity in it is maintained close to one hundred percent by constant frequent spraying. Rooting is carried out within 25 - 40 days.

Seedlings of good varieties are quite expensive, so gardeners often share cuttings with each other. Green cuttings are perhaps the best method of vegetative propagation of plants. Based on the experience of FORUMHOUSE participants, we will tell you how to properly cut cuttings and what to do to ensure that they take root easily and quickly.

Which crop cuttings take root easily?
How to propagate plants from green cuttings.
How to cut green cuttings.
What should a green cutting look like?
Leafy green cuttings.
Techniques that can improve the rooting of cuttings.

Which cuttings root easily?

Green cuttings of perennials and herbaceous shrubs take root best; plants of tree species, especially conifers, take root worse.

Here are plants that are literally made for cuttings:

phlox;
chrysanthemums;
grapes and almost all vines;
action;
spirea;
vesicular carp;
weigela;
dogwood;
currant;
forsythia;
mock orange;
viburnum;
hydrangea;
all types of honeysuckle;
some types of lilac;
actinidia;
small leaf roses.

Green cuttings: technique

The green stalk is the part of the stem with leaves. It is more correct to cut them from young plants; if you want to propagate old ones, then you will have to do rejuvenating pruning. The best cuttings are obtained from last year's growths. It is not recommended to take trailing shoots for cuttings; they do not take root well.

Sodmaster Agronomist, member of FORUMHOUSE

Green cuttings are planted for rooting either in a greenhouse equipped with “artificial fog” or in a “cutting box”.

An ordinary glass jar can be a full-fledged cutting; you just need to cover the top of the cutting planted in the ground with it.

Each crop has its own timing of cuttings. For example, agronomists recommend cuttings at the beginning of summer, because herbaceous, young cuttings take root much better, and currants can be cut in August using semi-lignified cuttings.

Member of our portal Irena For many years he has been successfully cutting plants using this method:

Cuts cuttings with a budding knife.
Immediately drops them into a prepared jar with water and a drop of Epin.
Under the same bush from which the cutting was taken, loosens the soil.
The cuttings are taken out of the jar one by one, and the lower end is dipped in Konevin.
Sticks the cutting into the ground, covers it with a glass jar or plastic bottle.

Irena Member of FORUMHOUSE

I cut cuttings with 2-3 internodes, the bottom cut is oblique, the top is straight. It is better to replant to a permanent place in the spring of next year, but some plants can be done as early as September.

How to cut green cuttings

Our task is to achieve successful rooting of cuttings, and we will make it much easier for ourselves if we adhere to a number of rules. So, if you cut the cuttings early in the morning, they will be saturated with moisture; If you start cuttings by first preparing a container with water and immediately placing the cut cuttings in it, this will help avoid drying out. The cuttings may have to be transported to another place - in this case, they are placed at an angle in a container with damp sphagnum; there is no need to spray the cuttings with water. In a container with sphagnum moss, cuttings can even be stored in the refrigerator, but for a maximum of two days.

The length of the cutting should be 8-12 centimeters, each cutting should contain 2-3 internodes, if the internodes are short, then more. There are plants (lilac, mock orange, roses, grapes) in which leaf-bud cuttings, that is, a very short part of the stem with a leaf and a bud, which is located in its axil, take root best. From this bud the stem of a new plant will appear. Usually the lower part of the shoot is used for cuttings, but if the optimal timing of cuttings is missed and summer is coming to an end, you can also take the upper part.

The tool used to cut the cuttings should be as sharp as possible so as not to squeeze the shoot tissue.

The lower, oblique cut of the cutting is made 1-1.5 centimeters below the bud, and the upper, horizontal one, immediately above the bud. An oblique lower cut helps the cutting to better absorb moisture.

Techniques to improve rooting

Cuttings will take root better if, 2-3 weeks before cutting, they are darkened and the part of the shoot that will be immersed in sand is wrapped in foil or non-woven material. This method is called etiolation. It is used, for example, when cutting lilacs and other crops with poorly rooted cuttings.

As my friend, a candidate of agricultural sciences, said, the cuttings think that they have already taken root and give new roots.

Fig1. Before growth begins, the shoot area is darkened.

Fig2. The base of the shoot is tied.

Fig3. The cutting “thinks” that it is already planted and forms roots in the darkened area.

If the plant has large leaves, such as viburnum or lilac, they can be cut in half on the eve of cuttings - this also contributes to better survival of the cuttings. But there is one subtlety here - many forms have insufficient chlorophyll content, and by cutting off the leaves, we will make it difficult for the cuttings to form roots. This applies to all crops with variegated, purple, yellow leaves.

It also helps cuttings to take root by bending a branch or cutting the roots 22 mm near the buds.

Correct soil temperature will significantly improve the chances of successful rooting of cuttings.

Vinogradinka Member of FORUMHOUSE

The temperature is comfortable for them - the process has begun! The heat pressed down - everything rotted...

We will tell you about the successful experience of rooting some cultures by FORUMHOUSE participants.

How to take lilac cuttings

It is quite difficult for cuttings to take root; this crop is easier to propagate by budding. However, this is possible if you cut the cuttings during the period when the lilac is just beginning to bloom, subject to high humidity and a temperature of +23-25 degrees.

Some varieties (Jeanne d'Arc, Buffon, etc.) take root well. Others (for example, Beauty of Moscow) are very difficult, and most importantly, for a long time, sometimes right up to the next year after cuttings.

How to take mock orange cuttings

Mock orange reproduces well by unusually large cuttings: in spring or autumn, cut shoots up to half a meter high are simply stuck into moist soil next to mock orange, currants or other plants that provide a lacy shadow.

After a year, the young plants are ready for planting in a permanent place.

How to cut girlish grapes

Cuttings of maiden grapes are cut before the sap begins to flow from young shoots (up to four years), but woody shoots take root best when they are one year old. The size of the cutting should be 25 -35 cm, and there should be 3-4 buds on it. The cuttings are planted in well-dug, light, loose soil to a depth of about 20 centimeters.

prepared by Ziborova E.Yu.

Cuttings, as one of the methods of vegetative propagation of plants, allows you to grow the plant you like without much expense and in a relatively short time, if you are lucky enough to have a shoot.
Woody plants are propagated mainly by stem and partly by root cuttings. Cuttings of many woody plants take root with difficulty, so nurseries use fogging units to maintain optimal rooting conditions: high air humidity combined with low soil moisture. Treatment of cuttings before plantinggrowth stimulants (phytohormones) also increases the chances of their successful rooting, accelerates the process of root formation on cuttings (especially difficult-to-root tree species) and contributes to obtaining a more powerful root system.

Reproduction woody plants green cuttings have recently become one of the main ones in ornamental gardening.
The best age of mother plants from which green cuttings are taken is considered to be from 5 to 10 years; cuttings of plants that are difficult to root are taken from younger (two to three year old) plants.

For each type of woody plant, it is important to establish the most favorable period for cuttings, which is determined by the calendar period and the degree of lignification (young shoots rot easily, their immature tissue is not able to form roots). In the middle zone of the European part of the former USSR, the period from late May to early July is considered optimal for rooting green cuttings of deciduous trees. In the early stages of this period, rooting proceeds better; in addition, the entire shoot, the lower part of which is semi-lignified and the upper part is green, is used for cutting cuttings. At later stages of this period, when the deciduous tree has finished growing, almost a third of the shoots prepared for cuttings are not used.

The best time for green cuttings of varietal lilacs and mock oranges occurs during flowering (cuttings should not be taken from shoots that have flowers or flower buds), and for a number of other species and forms of deciduous trees - during the period of intensive shoot growth. Summer cuttings in a greenhouse with strong lateral shoots of the mother plant “with a heel” or apical cuttings are recommended for barberry, euonymus, buddleia, weigela, wolfgrass, hydrangea, honeysuckle, cinquefoil, viburnum, cotoneaster, broom, rhododendron, etc. It is also practiced to propagate by summer cuttings There are rare plants in a cold greenhouse, which is much more difficult than autumn cuttings in open ground.

Conifers are cut either in the spring, before the buds begin to swell (for example, shoots of western thuja, spruce, fir and junipers are harvested from late April to early May) or in the summer, when they finish active growth (from mid-June to mid-July). It is difficult for most conifers and maples, oak, linden, birch, and other trees to take root when cuttings (their callus often reaches large sizes, severely depletes the cutting and prevents root formation).
The current year's shoots are cut into cuttings when they are still quite flexible and the bark is green. In most species of woody plants, cuttings are taken from the middle part of the shoot, discarding the upper part that is too soft and the lower part that is too woody. When cutting a cutting from the upper part of a full-fledged shoot of deciduous and coniferous trees (the so-called apical cutting), the apical bud is left on the cutting.

It is better to cut shoots into cuttings early in the morning or on a cloudy day (to reduce evaporation from the cuttings); large leaf blades are shortened by half and the cut shoots are placed with their lower ends in a vessel with water.
For successful root formation, the length and thickness of the cutting are important (very thin cuttings are undesirable). The length of the cutting is determined by the size of the internodes: from shoots with short nodes, cuttings are cut with 3-4 internodes, and from shoots with long nodes - with 2 internodes. Typically, the length of green cuttings ranges from 3 to 12 cm (longer cuttings take root worse), on average it is 8-10 cm.

Holding the prepared shoot in a canopy, cut cuttings from it with a sharp knife: the upper cut of the cutting is made straight - perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cutting (to reduce the evaporating surface) directly above the bud, and the lower cut - oblique, 0.5 - 1 cm below the base of the bud (at the opposite side from it); The lower leaves are removed from the cuttings. However, when rooting cuttings in a nursery using an artificial fog installation, the upper cut of the cuttings is made inclined (so that water can easily drain from them).

Before planting, the cut cuttings are placed in a container with a small amount of water, sprayed and covered with a damp cloth. Cuttings of some plants that cannot tolerate prolonged exposure to water are placed in damp peat or plastic film. Freshly cut cuttings of coniferous plants (pine, spruce, larch) must be kept in water for 2-3 hours (since resin is released on the cut surface of their cuttings, which prevents the absorption of water from the substrate after planting); Before planting, slightly update the cut. On cuttings of coniferous plants, to facilitate root formation, a longitudinal split of the base is often made to a depth of 1 cm (so that a larger surface of the cambium is exposed and its cells can more easily form roots).

To plant large numbers of green cuttings, cold frames or greenhouses are usually used; one or more cuttings can be planted in a pot. A layer of fertile loose soil mixed with sand (10-15 cm) is poured onto the bottom, and a layer of coarse washed sand (3-5 cm) is placed on top. Mixtures that have proven themselves well for rooting cuttings are: peat with sand in a ratio of 1:1 or 2:1; peat with vermiculite or peat with perlite in equal parts.
Cuttings with the lower part treated with phytohormone are planted vertically in the greenhouse soil under a wooden peg, tightly pressing the substrate around the cutting. The planting depth depends on the size of the cutting and the species: usually planted at a depth of 1-1.5 cm, and cuttings of most ornamental shrubs at a depth of 2.5 cm. The distance between cuttings in rows is 4-7 cm, between rows 5-10 cm After planting, the cuttings are carefully watered through a fine sieve, covered with a frame and shaded. The optimal temperature for rooting cuttings of most tree species is 20-25 degrees; The soil temperature for difficult-to-root species should be 3-5 degrees higher than the air temperature.

During the period of rooting of cuttings, the frames are opened for watering 2-4 times a day (less often in cloudy weather, more often in sunny weather). If the cutting is planted in a pot, then for better rooting, a "mini-greenhouse"; periodic spraying of the cuttings with the addition of "Epin" also speeds up the rooting process.

Soon after planting, callus begins to form in the lower part of the cutting (a growth-new formation of cells on the wound surface of the plant), and then roots appear. Rooting times are different for cuttings of different tree species. After rooting the cuttings, the buds begin to grow; when small shoots form, the greenhouses begin to be opened a little to harden off the young plants. With good shoot growth, the frames are opened more often and the cuttings are ventilated for longer and longer, and then removed completely. Usually in late August - early September, successfully rooted cuttings open completely. Well-rooted cuttings of fast-growing deciduous trees can be transplanted into open ground in the fall for their better development; slow-growing conifers are often grown at the rooting site for 2-3 years.

Caring for developing cuttings consists of shading from the hot sun, regular watering, weeding, and loosening the soil; for the winter, young plants are hilled up and mulched (the roses are additionally covered with leaves on top with a layer of 10-15 cm). When the temperature is set at 0+2 degrees, a reliable frame is placed over the rooted conifers and roses and covered with film; when the temperature further drops to minus 3-5 degrees, leaves or sawdust are poured onto the film in a layer of 5-7 cm and another layer of film is placed on top. In the spring, as the snow melts, the cover is gradually removed and covering material is pulled onto the frame over the plants to protect against sunburn. Well-rooted cuttings of winter-hardy conifers and deciduous plants can overwinter without additional shelter - under natural snow cover.

When propagating trees and shrubs lignified("winter") cuttings For cutting cuttings, strong, mature annual shoots are used (for poplars and willows - sometimes even two-year-old shoots and older). Woody cuttings are often used to propagate mock orange, privet, honeysuckle, hydrangea, snowberry, tamarisk, spirea, buddleia, weigela, forsythia, deutzia, elderberry, kerria, cinquefoil, and currants.
Shoots of woody plants are harvested for cuttings either in the fall after leaf fall, or during the winter dormancy period (November-February), or in early spring before the buds swell. Cuttings taken from young shoots from the lower part of the trunk of the mother plant take root better. To take cuttings, it is good to use the shoots that form after pruning the tree to the stump.

The easiest way to root cuttings of deciduous trees is to plant them in the fall after leaf fall in open ground (in the partial shade of the garden, in well-drained soil). Cuttings are cut from the lower and middle lignified parts of the shoots immediately before planting (it is allowed to “soak” the lower cut). The thickness of the cuttings is usually 7-12 mm, length 20-30 cm (for rooting in greenhouses, cuttings are cut 4-10 cm long). For a cutting planted in open ground, make an upper oblique cut (to allow rain to roll off) 0.3-0.5 cm above the bud, and a lower straight cut directly below the bud. For planting willow along wet banks of rivers and ponds, cuttings called “stakes” up to 1.5 meters long and 5-7 cm thick are often used.

In deciduous plants, cuttings cut in autumn (after the period of leaf fall) no longer have leaves, and in evergreen plants, leaves are removed from the lower and middle parts of the cutting (only the upper third of the length of the cutting remains leafy). The end of the cutting is treated with a phytohormone and planted in a prepared groove in open ground. The grooves are dug 15-20 cm deep with one vertical wall; the distance between the grooves is 15-20 cm. A layer of a mixture of peat and sand 2-3 cm thick is poured onto the bottom of the groove. The handle with the tag is placed in the groove so that it rests against the bottom and is adjacent to the vertical wall of the groove, and a third of the handle is located above the level land. Then the groove with the cutting is filled with soil in several stages, compacting each layer until the soil in the groove is level with the ground. Then the surface of the soil around the cutting is loosened, constructing a hole, and watered abundantly, and after the water is absorbed, soil is poured into the settled recess of the groove. It is advisable to compact the soil around the cuttings after frost. Successfully overwintered and well-rooted cuttings are transplanted to a permanent place a year after planting.

Shoots harvested in autumn and winter for spring cuttings and planting are tied into bunches and stored in the basement with their lower parts buried in wet sand, or in snow piles, or in a refrigerator (at a temperature of 1-3 degrees). In early spring, cuttings are cut from them, treated with phytohormone and planted in deeply cultivated (40-45 cm) soil in ribbons at a distance of 15-20 cm in a row - vertically or slightly oblique, deep (to the top bud), tightly pressing the soil around the cuttings; water abundantly.

prepared by Ziborova E.Yu.

HE. Aladina, doctor of agriculture. sciences,

g.s.s. laboratory of fruit growing, prof. Department of Fruit Growing

Green cuttings are one of the most promising methods of vegetative propagation, allowing one to obtain own-rooted plants on an industrial scale. The main stages of the technology were developed by the early 80s. Scientists such as M.T. made a great contribution to its development. Tarasenko, Z.A. Prokhorova, V.V. Faustov, B.S. Ermakov, F.Ya. Polikarpova, E.G. Samoshchenkov, V.K. Bakun, V.A. Maslova, A.G. Matushkin, I.M. Posnova, L.P., Skaliy et al.

Green cuttings are based on the natural ability of plants to regenerate - restoration of lost organs or parts, the formation of entire plants from leafy stem cuttings after the formation of adventitious roots. Regeneration manifests itself differently and depends on many factors: life form, hereditary characteristics, age, condition of mother plants, rooting conditions, etc.

Green cuttings allow you to increase the yield of cuttings from one mother plant (up to 200-300 pieces) and significantly (4-5 times) reduce the area of mother plants. It allows you to expand the number of species and varieties capable of propagation vegetatively and is indispensable for the rapid propagation of forms available in the mother liquor in limited quantities (valuable breeding forms, rare varieties, healthy plants). Green cuttings contribute to the health of planting material: growing shoots are less populated by pests (glasswort, gall midge, bud mite) than lignified ones. A significant advantage of green cuttings is that the planting material is rooted plants that are distinguished by their physiological integrity and genetic homogeneity; it provides not only a high reproduction rate, but also a shorter growing period. This technology is successfully combined with other methods: microclonal propagation, propagation by green grafting, lignified cuttings. It is possible to combine it with picking strawberry rosettes to produce seedlings of flower, vegetable and medicinal plants.

Green cutting technology uses modern means of mechanization and automation of technological processes. Rooting of green cuttings and, partly, their growing are carried out in protected soil under controlled conditions, while the results of growing planting material do not depend on unfavorable climatic factors. Thanks to the intensive use of protected soil (dense placement of cuttings per unit area, use of containers, development of the vertical profile of greenhouses, introduction of crop rotation), green cuttings are highly profitable.

The bottleneck of the existing technology is large losses of rooted plants during storage and after transplantation for growing. Crops that are difficult to propagate have a long period of root formation, rooting rate is no more than 30-50%, and poor development of the root system is the reason for poor survival rate during transplantation, low winter hardiness of rooted cuttings and low quality of planting material. The method is effective, but requires significant additional costs for the planting of intensive queen cells, the construction of a fog-forming installation with an automated system for regulating external conditions, the construction of cultivation structures, rooms for cuttings and winter storage of rooted cuttings, etc. Green cuttings, despite the apparent simplicity of implementation, require good knowledge biological characteristics of propagated species and varieties, a well-thought-out system of measures for organizing production and precision in the implementation of all technological methods.

Over several decades of research, the basic elements of the technology were developed. It was found that the effectiveness of green cuttings depends on the life form of plants (woody ones take root poorly, vines and herbaceous perennials are best) and species and varietal characteristics. It turns out that even within the same species (for example, varieties of apple, stone fruit, gooseberry, barberry), the rooting of cuttings is not the same.

It turned out that in order for the production of planting material to be profitable, the selection of breeds and varieties must be carried out taking into account their production value, consumer demand and natural ability to propagate by green cuttings. The rooting rate should be at least 60-90%, and the yield of standard seedlings should be at least 30-40% of the initial number of cuttings. The range of garden plants is varied and regularly updated. In this regard, it is necessary to provide for prompt replacement of mother plantings.

In general, the role of mother plants is difficult to overestimate. It was found that the ability to propagate by green cuttings is determined not only by hereditary characteristics, but also by the age and physiological state of the mother plants.

As a rule, plants in the early stages of their ontogenesis exhibit a high regenerative ability, which subsequently decreases as they age. In this regard, it is advisable to use queen cells up to 10-12 years of age, and in some breeds - even less.

The costs of planting queen cells with pure-grade, healthy planting material are completely justified, which significantly increases the cutting productivity of plantings and reduces protective measures and pesticide loads.

Many researchers rightly believe that when developing technologies for propagation by green cuttings and in sterile culture, the condition of the mother plant is of paramount importance and consider it necessary to highlight a preliminary stage, the purpose of which should be the targeted preparation of plants for propagation.

Mother plants are planted densely in rows (like a hedge) with sparse row spacing. Within two years, the plantings are pruned fairly short to obtain branched, uniformly growing plants. With restrained growth, the shoots develop properties that promote the formation of root primordia. The compact placement of bushes and heavy pruning ensure an increase in the total growth and, consequently, the yield of green cuttings per unit area of the queen cell.

A highly effective technique is growing mother plants in protected ground: the yield of cuttings is 5-20 times higher than in open ground (increasing vegetative productivity is especially important in the initial stages of propagation), the favorable period for cuttings increases to three weeks, in a number of difficult-to-propagate plants by Rooting of cuttings increases by 20-35%.

Good water supply to the shoot tissues contributes to the successful rooting of cuttings, so the soil moisture in the queen cells should be at least 70-80% of the field moisture capacity. In this regard, especially in protected soil conditions, continuous mulching of the soil with black polyethylene film is justified. Moisture is better retained under the film, the soil warms up earlier in the spring, and manual weeding is eliminated. Favorable temperature and water conditions in the root layer ensure powerful root growth, promote better growth of the aboveground part and increase cutting productivity by 20%.

The provision of mother plants with mineral nutrition elements is of great importance, but it should be borne in mind that excess nitrogen and excessively strong growth of shoots prevents the rooting of cuttings. Therefore, nitrogen fertilizers are applied only in the form of fertilizing at the beginning of summer.

Well-known techniques include etiolation of mother plants: in early spring, annual and biennial branches are fixed horizontally and covered with an opaque film for 3-4 weeks. After removing the film, young etiolated shoots are spudded, leaving the tops. When the shoots reach a length of 20-25 cm, they are cut off at the base and cut into pieces. In our country, this method is widely used when growing clonal rootstocks. Etiolation activates the awakening of the kidneys, incl. dormant, enhances shoot formation, increases the yield of cuttings from the mother plant, positively influencing the formation of root buds. The reason is that etiolated shoots are younger in tissue development and superior to green shoots in terms of the supply of plastic substances, the activity of enzymes and hormones, especially IAA (β-indolylacetic acid), which induces adventitious root formation.

An effective way to pre-prepare shoots for cuttings is their local etiolation, which consists of isolating from light those parts of the stem that are basal when cutting cuttings. As the shoot grows, starting from a length of 5-7 cm, a spiral-shaped tube 30 mm long made of black polyethylene film is put on the upper part of the rapidly growing shoot. As it grows, several more tubes are placed on the shoot according to the number of cuttings. With local etiolation, the rooting period is reduced by 2-3 times, and the quality of the root system improves. Local etiolation allows for a long time to preserve the ability of the middle and lower parts of the shoot to root. Using the entire shoot for cuttings ensures a high yield of planting material. In easily rooted species and varieties, root primordia are formed in shaded areas, which reduces the rooting time by 2 times

Complete shading of mother plants after heavy pruning in combination with local etiolation of the base of the shoots is very promising. Of particular interest is etiolation in combination with growing mother plants in protected soil, which makes it possible to significantly increase the reproduction rate and increase the number of rooted cuttings with growth by 1.5-2 times. When grown in a greenhouse and local etiolation, a similar reaction occurs, which is expressed in the restructuring of the anatomy of the stem of the cuttings and increased meristematic activity.

A new direction in preparing source plants for cuttings is associated with the use of growth regulators on queen cells. Treatment of plants with biologically active substances affects the physiological state of plants, causing a chain of reactions not observed under normal conditions. The action of growth regulators is based on profound changes in the functional state of membranes, hormonal status and many metabolic reactions.

Our twenty years of experience have proven the advisability of treating mother plants of fruit, berry and ornamental plants with growth regulators before cuttings. The most effective is the use of retardants (chlorocholine chloride, cultar, pix, kim-112) and drugs with cytokinin activity (dropp, 6-BAP). After treating the mother plants with growth regulators, root formation in stem cuttings of medium- and difficult-to-root species and varieties increases, the yield of rooted material with a well-developed root system increases, winter hardiness and the proportion of standard seedlings increase. An undoubted advantage is the combined use of growth regulators with urea nitrogen (5 g/l) and a complex of microelements (cytovit, 1 ml/l). A positive effect is achieved without treating the cuttings themselves with root formation stimulants, which significantly simplifies the cutting process, especially when propagating thorny plants (gooseberries, barberries, rose hips). After using retardants, cuttings of easily rooted plants take root well in simple greenhouses; It is better to root cuttings of difficult-to-root species and cuttings from open ground under controlled conditions. In easily propagated plants, especially at a young age, a positive aftereffect is observed the following year.

It should be noted that the effectiveness of this method of preparing mother plants depends on a number of factors.

A high effect is achieved when treating mother plants only in a certain phase of growth of annual shoots: for easily rooted plants - at the beginning, for difficult to root plants - at the end of the fading growth phase. In the latter, the optimal phase is short and occurs earlier than in easily rooted crops. In protected soil, the favorable period for treatment increases by 2-3 weeks.

In the manifestation of the maximum effect, the processing time during the day is also of great importance. Spraying of plants should be carried out in the morning (from 7 to 11) and evening (from 17 to 19 hours), when turgor is restored. There is an obvious connection with the state of the stomata, which in turn depends on temperature, illumination, moisture supply to plants, and the intensity of assimilation processes.

We obtained the best results in years with humid and very warm weather. Experiments have confirmed that in dry years, the quality of treatments increases against the background of irrigation (60-70% PV). In this case, difficult-to-root forms are especially responsive.

When growing mother plants in protected soil with continuous mulching and regular watering, the effectiveness of treatments increases and is less dependent on the weather during the growing season. In addition, when keeping queen cells in a greenhouse, the period from processing to the start of cuttings is reduced to 3-6 days; in open ground it is longer and lasts 2-3 weeks.

Annual pruning of mother plants is necessary, but it should be borne in mind that with very strong shortening, the total growth is significantly reduced. In addition, it is important to preserve several orders of branching in order to limit the number of strongly growing axial, fattening shoots, the cuttings from which root weakly.

In green cutting technology, the size and type of cutting are indeed of great importance. To prepare cuttings, it is best to use one-year growth of higher orders of branching, average growth vigor, from the well-lit side of the crown. The size of the cuttings depends on the planned release of planting material and the characteristics of the crop. It is known that plants from long cuttings develop better, but in usual practice the average cutting length is 12-15 cm. When propagating species with large leaves, 2-3-node cuttings are used. As a rule, combined (with part of last year's wood) and apical cuttings take root better, however, much depends on the timing of cuttings.

In some breeds, the optimal cutting period is relatively short (10-14 days) and clearly coincides either with the phase of intensive shoot growth (cherry, plum, peach, lilac, barberry, golden and red currant, etc.), or with the phase of fading growth (European gooseberry varieties, sea buckthorn, clonal rootstocks, apple, quince). As a rule, these are breeds with a reduced ability to reproduce. In easily rooted plants, the period of green cuttings is more extended and can last in central Russia from early June to mid-August. Coniferous plants (thuja, juniper, cypress, biota) with a long rooting period are best taken from cuttings in mid-late June. When the queen cells are kept in protected soil, the cutting period for certain species is longer. When determining the timing of cuttings, you should pay attention to such indicators as the flexibility or fragility of the shoot, the degree of lignification, and the presence of a grassy top. When harvesting shoots and cuttings, do not allow them to wither. It is better to harvest them in the morning, when plant tissues are saturated with moisture.

Treatment of the basal parts with growth regulators was the most effective technique, stimulating the processes of regeneration of adventitious roots in green cuttings. This technique provides a great economic effect with low labor and cost. At one time, thanks to the discovery of the ability of certain hormonal drugs to stimulate root formation, many difficult-to-propagate crops were transferred to the rank of medium- and easy-rooting ones.

β-indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA) or heteroauxin (50-200 mg/l) is most often used as rooting stimulants; β-indolyl-3-butyric acid (IBA; 5-100 mg/l); α-naphthylacetic acid (NAA, 5-50 mg/l). In production conditions, 4 methods of treatment with growth regulators are used:

- weakly concentrated aqueous solutions (the lower ends of the cuttings are immersed in the solution for a sufficiently long time (16-24 hours);

- concentrated alcohol solutions; the depth of immersion in the solution of the lower ends of the cuttings is minimal, the treatment exposure is from one to several seconds;

- growth paste; the paste can be applied in advance to shoots on mother plants or to the lower part of prepared cuttings

- growth powder; The cuttings are dipped into powder (kornevin) with their bases, and then planted for rooting.

Treatment of cuttings with aqueous solutions is the simplest, most accessible and widely used method in green cutting technology. The optimal temperature of the working solution is +18...+20°C. The concentration of the drug and the duration of treatment depend on the root-forming ability and the degree of lignification of the shoots.

Despite the high stimulating activity of synthetic auxins, their use is currently limited because they are toxic compounds. A search is underway for equally effective but environmentally friendly drugs. It turned out that vitamins (ascorbic acid, thiamine) and the drug zircon, acting as antioxidants, IAA, as well as phenolic compounds (rutin, succinic, gallic, salicylic, ferullic acids) and steroidal glycosides (emistim, ecost) showed stimulating properties.

Our research has made it possible to identify as effective root formation stimulators preparations derived from endophytic fungi (nikfan, symbiont, mycephyte), epin, potassium lignohumate, salts of cresoacetic acid (kresacin, kresival, ethiran), chitosan derivatives (ecogel), the drug Baikal EM- 1.

Researchers and practitioners are unanimous that rooting conditions (humidity, temperature, lighting, substrates) are perhaps the most important factor in the successful rooting of green cuttings. Active root formation requires a complex of factors that can simultaneously ensure maximum reduction of transpiration, intensive photosynthesis and hormonal activity of leaves. The classic literature on green cuttings provides comprehensive material on the reaction of cuttings of different breeds and varieties to external conditions, on the design of greenhouses and fogging plants, optimization of regimes, arrangement of beds, preparation of substrates, hardening methods, etc.

However, despite the fact that the basic elements of the technology at the rooting stage are quite well developed, we cannot ignore some new techniques that make it possible to increase the yield of high-quality and viable rooted material per unit area of greenhouses, and to increase its shelf life after replanting and during winter storage.

We have obtained good rooting results on a substrate containing the following components: high-moor peat, coarse-grained perlite and fresh dehydrated, stabilized municipal wastewater sludge (OGSS; Kuddek fertilizer) in equal parts by volume. Such a substrate has good physical properties, contains all the necessary nutrients, is free from pathogenic flora, and has significant hormonal activity, incl. auxin. The latter property allows you to root easily propagated shrubs without the use of growth regulators. It can also be added that when growing rooted cuttings in containers, the inclusion of OGSV in the substrate promotes rapid initial growth, powerful development of the root system and above-ground parts of plants.

An unconventional, but very effective approach to the problem of rooting is the use of foliar treatments of green cuttings with growth regulators. The positive effect of foliar feeding of cuttings with mineral fertilizers (urea, superphosphate, potassium chloride or potassium salt, complex fertilizers) is known, which, under leaching conditions, ensures good development of the root system.

We have established that single non-root treatments of green cuttings at the beginning of root formation with physiologically active substances and their mixtures have a significant positive effect on both the formation of roots and the resistance of rooted plants to adverse external factors and the yield of high-quality planting material. The phase of onset of root formation varies depending on the root-forming ability of plants: for easily rooted plants it occurs after 2-4 weeks, for difficult-to-root plants - 4-6 weeks after planting. According to the results of many years of experiments, stable results are obtained from foliar treatments with drugs with cytokinin activity (Dropp, 6-BAP, Cytadef (20-50 mg/l); potassium lignohumate (150-200 mg/l), epin (0.2 ml/l) ; mycephyte (10 mg/l), cherkaz (40-50 mg/l). Treatments with compositions containing the listed cytokinins and cresoacetic acid salts (kresacin, cresival, ethiran (10-40 mg/l) are effective. The effect is enhanced when used together. substances and compositions with urea nitrogen (5 g/l) and microelements (cytovit, 1 ml/l).

The problem of winter hardiness of rooted plants, especially such as gooseberries, honeysuckle, cinquefoil, barberry, cherry, etc., which do not overwinter and are stored well, can be solved by rooting cuttings in plastic cells with a diameter of 5 cm. As a rule, cuttings root worse in cassettes than in ridges, but the listed methods (use of combined cuttings and substrates with OGSV, foliar treatments) reliably increase the yield of rooted material with an intact root ball entwined with roots. Such cuttings are well stored in cassettes and in bulk in the basement at low positive temperatures, successfully winter in open ground after transplantation and are ideally suited for container culture. When planting in February, by the beginning of June, good quality planting material for berry and ornamental shrubs is obtained. And after growing in open ground, almost all planting material can be classified as standard.

Report made at the V annual conference of the APPM, February 2012.

I thought that the topic of cuttings was already closed,
but some readers have questions.
To avoid answering everyone individually
I decided to dedicate one more page -
preparation of cuttings. Well, look, or rather read.

Conifers are cut either in the spring, before the buds begin to swell (for example, shoots of western thuja, spruce, fir and junipers are harvested from late April to early May) or in the summer, when they finish active growth (from mid-June to mid-July). The current year's shoots are cut into cuttings when they are still quite flexible and the bark is green. In most species of woody plants, cuttings are taken from the middle part of the shoot, discarding the upper part that is too soft and the lower part that is too woody. When cutting a cutting from the upper part of a full-fledged shoot of deciduous and coniferous trees (the so-called apical cutting), the apical bud is left on the cutting.

When preparing cuttings, use a sharp knife to make a beveled cut directly under the bud or 1 cm below the bud. A straight upper cut is made above the kidney. To reduce transpiration, the lower leaves of the cuttings are removed, and large ones are cut in half. It is better not to trim leaves of plants that are difficult to root.

Cuttings should be harvested in a shaded place, constantly spraying them with water, since the cut shoots should not be allowed to dry out or even wilt.

Before planting, the cut cuttings are placed in a container with a small amount of water, sprayed and covered with a damp cloth. Cuttings of some plants that cannot tolerate prolonged exposure to water are placed in damp peat or plastic film. Freshly cut cuttings of coniferous plants (pine, spruce, larch) must be kept in water for 2-3 hours (since a resin is released on the cut surface of their cuttings, which prevents the absorption of water from the substrate after planting); Before planting, slightly update the cut. On cuttings of coniferous plants, to facilitate root formation, a longitudinal split of the base is often made to a depth of 1 cm (so that a larger surface of the cambium is exposed and its cells can more easily form roots).

Shoots harvested in autumn and winter for spring cuttings and planting are tied into bunches and stored in the basement with their lower parts buried in wet sand, or in snow piles, or in a refrigerator (at a temperature of 1-3 degrees). In early spring, cuttings are cut from them, treated with phytohormone and planted in deeply cultivated soil vertically or slightly obliquely, deep (to the top bud), pressing the soil tightly around the cuttings; water abundantly.