Effect of auxin phytohormones on the rooting of some local populations of fig (Ficus carica L.) hardwood cuttings from North Macedonia

In the Republic of North Macedonia fig is grown sporadically, mainly in the form of individual plants. In the recent years, there has been an increased interest for establishing orchards of this fruit species. The research was carried out in 2017 and 2018, on an experimental field at the "Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food" in Skopje to study the effect of two phytohormones: indolebuteryc acid 0.1% (IBA) and 1naphthaleneacetic acid 0.1% (NAA) on the rooting of hardwood cuttings from tree domestic populations of figs, 'Bela smokva', 'Crna smokva', and 'Petrovka'. At the end of each vegetation period the following parameters were evaluated: percentage of rooting, diameter and length of the shoots, total mass of the roots, and the length and number of roots with a diameter above 3 mm. In the populations of 'Bela smokva' and 'Crna smokva' the treatments had a significant difference regarding the studied parameters in 2017. However, in 2018 they did not differ significantly regarding the length and number of the roots above 3 mm. In the population of 'Petrovka' the treatments did not show any significant difference in both years regarding the studied parameters. On the basis of our research we concluded that all of the cuttings had a high percentage of rooting, ranging from 82.3 to 90.0%.