Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 2
Written by Silvana Mihaela DĂNĂILĂ-GUIDEA, Ecaterina DAMIAN, Ricuţa-Vasilica DOBRINOIU, Monica ENACHE, Gabriela POPA, Valerica-Luminița VIȘAN
Market demand for Helichrysum italicum (Asteraceae) is growing, especially for its valuable essential oils, however, seed quality and crop growth are variable. Among the various methods of vegetative propagation, propagation by stem cuttings is one of the most viable techniques that allow multiplication of genotypes of interest to achieve crop uniformity. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop a sustainable vegetative multiplication system under controlled growing conditions. For this purpose, H. italicum seedlings were grown on different experimental substrate variants. Growth and vegetative development parameters of the seedlings were monitored, such as: average number of seedlings, average height of seedlings, length and number of roots. The results showed that the best substrates for root growth and rapid seedling production of H. italicum were: perlite and rooting with Radistim 2 (V5-a2b2) followed by perlite with peat and Radistim 2 (V8-a3b2) and perlite with peat and rooting with Atonik solution (V9-a3b3). The results obtained may contribute to the expansion of H. italicum cultivation in Romania for use as a medicinal plant or in the food industry.
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