Doses of calcium sulphate increase the peroxidase activity and the rooting of eucalyptus clones

Abstract

Due to the demand of the forest-based sector and the difficulty for providing seedlings of Eucalyptus spp. produced by cutting rooting, the objective of this study was to evaluate if doses of a calcium sulphate-based fertilizer increase the peroxidase activity and the rooting of two eucalyptus clones. The study was conducted using cuttings of the eucalyptus clones IPB22 and IBP26 (Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla), in which bi-weekly applications of the fertilizer were carried out in the aerial part of the plants for 120 days at dosages of 0, 40, 80, 160 and 320 g L-1 in indoor experimental nursery. The analyzed variables were shoot height and diameter, rooting percentage and peroxidase activity. We observed that the use of doses of calcium sulphate based fertilizer, mainly 160 and 320 g L-1, increased the height, diameter, rooting and peroxidase of the mini-cuttings for both clones. Thus, this fertilizer induces the peroxidase activity, contributing to a better development of eucalyptus mini-cuttings.