Effect of the hydrogel incorporation on different substrates on the rooting and quality of clonal Eucalyptus seedlings

Abstract

Vegetative propagation requires greater control over the substrate, having a qualitative and quantitative reflection within the entire seedlings production chain until the planting. This work aimed to evaluate the rooting and quality of clonal eucalyptus seedlings grown on three different commercial substrates with and without hydrogel incorporation. The research was carried out at the nursery of the R&S Florestal company, Planaltina, Federal District. For producing the seedlings, the following commercial substrates were used: Vivatto Slim Plus?, Bioplant? and Tropstrato Florestal?, with and without hydrogel (2 g L-1), Forth Gel?, and the genetic material (mini-cuttings) used was the clone VM01. A completely randomized design was used, with six treatments in a 3x2 factorial scheme (three types of substrate x presence and absence of hydrogel), with four replications. At 35 days after cutting, the rooting of the mini-cuttings was evaluated, and the seedlings development was evaluated at 101 DAE. The hydrogel efficiency for improving the rooting quality of mini-cuttings and seedlings development depends on the physical and chemical properties of the substrates.