Humic substances and modes of application in the rooting of semihardwood cuttings of two olive cultivars

Abstract

Olive propagation by the cutting method demands the study of several techniques due to the low percentage of rooting. This study aimed to evaluate the rooting of semi-hardwood cuttings of olives using humic substances and their modes of application. Two experiments were carried out in a hoop house built under a black screen in the Professor Mário César Lopes seedling nursery, belonging to the Western Paraná State University. The first experiment evaluated the rooting of cuttings of the cultivars Maria da Fé and Ascolano in different humic substances and a control. The experimental design was randomized in blocks in a 2×5 factorial arrangement (cultivar x humic substances), with three replications of 25 cuttings per experimental unit. The second experiment consisted of the rooting of the two cultivars using three modes of application of the commercial product SoloHumics® and a control. The experimental design was randomized in blocks in a 2×4 factorial scheme (cultivar x mode of application), with three replications and 25 cuttings per plot. Data were collected for phytotechnical evaluations after 75 days. Humic substances did not influence a higher acquisition of rooted cuttings and the quality of adventitious roots emitted in both cultivars. The application using irrigation and spraying for the cultivar Maria da Fé and spraying for Ascolano 315 were more efficient when using humic substances aiming at their propagation by cuttings.