EFFECTS OF CUTTING ORIGIN AND EXOGENOUS HORMONE ON ROOTING OF Camellia kirinoi

Flowers of golden camellias have been used for human healthcare. Cutting propagation provides uniform plant materials with large genetic gains for higher production. The effects of cutting origin and exogenous hormone pretreatment on rooting were studied for golden camellia - Camellia kirinoi. The results showed that cuttings collected from plant stock grown in the garden of local people had significant higher rooting efficiency than cuttings collected from natural forest. Exogenous hormone types (IBA/Indole-3-butyric acid and IAA/Indole-3-acetic acid) and their different concentrations significantly affected rooting efficiency. Higher rooting efficiency was obtained with IBA, which resulted in the highest rooting percentage of 92% at 130 days of growth by using a concentration of 1.5% (by weight in powder). Hormone types and their concentrations also affected mean root length (MRL). The longest MRL was observed in IBA 1.5% with a length of 8.1 cm at 130 days of growth. It is concluded that cutting propagation should be used to produce seedlings for C. kirinoi. The stock plant should be planted and tended properly in a nursery for cutting production and IBA 1.5% in powder should be used for pretreatment. In addition, cutting management is controlled by the humidity of >95%, the temperature of <27oC, and shading direct sunlight of 30-35%.