ASEXUAL PROPAGATION OF ARACA (Psidium cattleianum Sabine) BY LEAF AND YOUNG BRANCHES CUTTINGS

Psidium cattleianum Sab., from Mirtaceae family, commonly known as araca, is a native species form the South of Brazil, present in biomes such as the Atlantic Forest, a deciduous forest of Brazilian cerrado, strongly affected by the expansion of areas for agricultural and industrial production. Researches on plant breeding area, nutraceuticals and other areas have validated its potential and it detaches the need to promote it on a commercial scale. Mechanisms, that allow exploiting its genetic potential while maintaining its conservation areas, require adjustment in cloning techniques for fixing interest characteristics. In this investigation, seedlings of leaf cutting and young branch were assessed, with three treatments in leaf cutting (H2PO4 0.2 gL(-1), AIB 100 mg L-1 and AIB and powder-based applied over cutting region). Moreover, leaf cuttings of five cm length and the two leaves were treated with AIB (0, 1,500, 3,000 and 6,000 mg L-1) in the absence and presence of BAP (500 mg L-1). Treatment with AIB (powder) in leaf cuttings showed higher survival of leave; however, there were callus formation, especialy compared to other treatments of H2PO4 and AIB that showed average rooting percentage of 18%. In plant cuttings, there were no significant difference for the variables evaluated between AIB doses; however, the use of cytokinin (BAP 500 mg L-1) was inhibitory. There was no difference at rooting percentage (98%) without treatment with regulator, maintaining similar with BAP doses.