Stock-plant etiolation causes drifts in total soluble sugars and anthraquinones, and promotes adventitious root formation in teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) coppice shoots

Abstract

The effects of stock-plant etiolation on coppice-shoot growth, drifts in total soluble sugars and anthraquinones (AQs; C14H8O 2), and rooting potentiality of shoot cuttings were examined in Tectona grandis L. f. (clone FG1). When seedlings were one-year-old, they were coppiced and maintained in the dark for etiolation, with a parallel set kept under natural light in an open environment. Coppice shoots were made into single-node leafy cuttings (SNCs), which were cultured under intermittent mist for rooting. These SNCs were treated with different concentrations of NAA (0, 2000 and 3000 mg l-1). Etiolation significantly increased the coppice-shoot length, internode length, number of coppice shoots, number of leaves, number of nodes and total soluble sugars. The HPTLC analysis showed qualitative and quantitative differences in AQs in coppice shoots obtained from etiolated and non-etiolated stock plants. The study showed that AQs could be used as a marker for maturity and juvenility in teak. Stock-plant etiolation caused a significant increase in percent rooting and sprouting, shoot length, number of shoots and number of leaves per SNC, but a decrease in callusing at the base of the SNC. NAA at 2000 and 3000 mg l-1 had inhibitory effects on rooting and sprouting of SNCs. The result showed that stock-plant etiolation fostered rooting by rejuvenating the coppice shoots. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.