Rooting Of Soursop Cuttings Collected From Different Branch Positions And Treated With Iba

Soursop (Annona muricata L) occupies a promising position in the Brazilian fruit market. The growing demand and interest for soursop pulp, either for domestic use or for the juice, sorbets and beverages processing industries, justifies its inclusion in the list of new tropical Brazilian fruit stars. The vegetative propagation of elite plants and selected varieties is the most recommended method to establish uniform and productive orchards. Among the existing methods of vegetative propagation, stem cuttings is one that presents greater simplicity, speed and low cost. This work aimed to identify the best position of a soursop branch to collect cuttings and the concentration of the indole-butyric acid (IBA) that best stimulates adventitious rooting. An experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications and treatments arranged in 3x5 factorial scheme, consisting of five concentrations of IBA (0, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000mg-kg(-1)) and three types of cuttings (apical, sub-apical and median). The plot consisted of four cuttings, which were evaluated for 60 days in a mist chamber. Branch cuttings from all positions presented rooting, which was incremented with IBA treatment. An IBA concentration of 2887mg.mg(-1) was estimated as that which promotes the highest rooting percentage of the cuttings (90.1%), showing the viability of this technique to produce soursop seedlings.