- C P Welgemoed en I J Froneman
- lnstituut vir Tropiese en Subtropiese Gewasse, Privaatsak X11208, Nelspruit 1200
- 1998
Wanneer nuwe belowende lietsjie (Litchi chinensis) voortplantingsmateriaal bekom word, hetsy vanaf oorsese of plaaslike materiaal, word probleme ondervind om groot hoeveelhede bome so vinnig moontlik te vermeerder. Vir die lietsjieteelprogram van die ITSG is dit gebiedend noodsaaklik om belowende seleksies/kultivars in die bedryf te kan vestig vanaf minimum hoeveelhede voortplantingsmateriaal. Om hierdie doel te bereik, is twintig steggies van ses kultivars vir ses maande bewortel. Die sukses van beworteling het gewissel van geen groei in die wintermaande tot 60% groei in Februarie. Aangesien swak beworteling verkry is, het die oorleefpersentasie na uitplanting gewissel tussen 0% en 68%. In die volgende proef is enting van ses kultivars op drie verskillende saailing-, asook twee verskillende luginleer-onderstamme, toegepas. Daar is van geringeleerde sowel as ongeringeleerde enthout gebruik gemaak. Uitstaande sukses van 98% met geringeleerde enthout en 83% ten opsigte van ongeringeleerde enthout is behaal. ‘n Verfynde tegniek vir die maak van mikro- en veelvuldige luginleers (meer as een per tak) is ontwikkel. Enting op die inheemse doppruim (Pappea capensis) as onderstam was onsuksesvol, maar enting was suksesvol op longaan (Euphoria Longan) toegepasl
Summary:
- The article explores three different methods for rapid multiplication of litchi vegetative material to establish promising cultivars quickly: rooting cuttings, grafting, and air layering.
- Trial 1 focused on rooting terminal cuttings from six cultivars over six months, finding rooting success varied seasonally from 0% in winter to 60% in February, but transplant survival was low due to poor root development in winter.
- Trial 2 involved grafting six cultivars onto seedling and air-layer rootstocks, using both girdled and non-girdled graftwood; girdled graftwood had a very high success rate of 98%, compared to 83% for non-girdled.
- A refined method for making multiple micro air layers (more than one per branch) was developed with near 100% success, offering an efficient propagation technique.
- Grafting onto the indigenous tree Pappea capensis was unsuccessful, but grafting onto longan (Euphoria longan) succeeded.
- Air layering is a proven and cost-effective commercial method requiring no special equipment and can be done year-round with skilled labor, though it requires considerable vegetative material.
- Seed propagation is important for genetic diversity but shows high variability in growth, production, and disease resistance; seedlings can be used as rootstocks for grafting.
- Cuttings produce slower growing plants with potential losses during transplanting, making them less favorable compared to air layering.
- Recommendations include prioritizing micro and multiple air layers for propagation due to higher success and reduced losses versus cuttings.
- Grafting on seedlings and air layer rootstocks with girdled wood is commercially viable, with certain cultivars like Red McLean and Brewster showing good promise as rootstocks.