Rooting responses of black pepper (Piper nigrum cv. Bragantina) as affected by chemical, physical and microbiological properties of substrates and auxin

Abstract

The quality of the root system in stem cuttings of Piper nigrum is highly associated with the induction of adventitious roots by means of auxins and type of substrates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rooting of P. nigrum cv. Bragantina cuttings treated or not with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in different substrates. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design following a factorial 2 x 11 scheme (IBA - 0 and 4000 mg kg-1 in talc and 11 substrates), with four repetitions of 16 cuttings each. The auxin increased rooting and improved the quality of the root system. The substrates evaluated presented diverse physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics, interfering significantly in the rooting responses. Substrates (d) - soil + limestone + single superphosphate + potassium chloride + chicken manure and (i) - soil + coffee straw + limestone + single superphosphate are the ones recommended for rooting of pepper cv. Bragantina.