Genotypic variability of rooting capacity in Coffea arabica L. cuttings

Abstract

Cutting propagation of coffee trees has been used for several years in Coffea canephora because of the advantages of this technique compared to seed propagation. Recently, the production of heterotic arabic coffee hybrid genotypes increased the importance of conventional and biotechnological cloning also for C. arabica. Two experiments were carried out to assess cutting rooting of several C. arabica genotypes. In greater detail, the potential of two types of cutting of several hybrid genotypes compared to C. canephora genotypes was investigated. The experiment was carried out under shading with automatic misting in boxes of partially burnt rice husks during the summer months. There is genetic variability for cutting rooting capacity among the C. arabica genotypes. The F1 hybrids tended to perform better than the lines. Single-node soft-wood cuttings were superior to the tip cuttings. Selection only for cutting rooting characteristics and useable cuttings resulted in efficient selection especially among single-node soft-wood cuttings. In spite of the large observed difference between the cutting production of C. arabica and C. canephora, in some cases C. arabica genotypes can be obtained with rooting performance very close that observed in C. canephora.