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In previous studies, baldcypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.] clones were selected for tolerance to high pH soils, drought and salt exposures, and ornamental characteristics. The objective of the current research was to determine the treatment combinations that yielded optimum root quantity (percentage) and rooted cutting quality (root number, length, dry mass, and shoot dry mass) on vegetative cuttings for a representative clone. Cuttings were treated with factorial combinations of one of four potassium salt of indole-3-butyric acid (K-IBA) concentrations [0, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ (0, 20.72, 41.44, 62.16 mm, respectively)], wounded or not wounded (1-cm long basal incision), and rooted in one of three substrates (100% perlite, 100% peatmoss, or 50% perlite:50% peatmoss). Data indicated a tradeoff between potential rooting quantity and root quality measurements in response to different substrates. Although rooting percentages were affected by substrates only at P ≤ 0.10 (53% in 100% perlite versus 36% in 100% peatmoss), there were highly significant (P ≤ 0.0001) differences in rooted cutting potential among substrates as measured by the percentage of cuttings with basal callus. Cuttings placed in 100% perlite callused at 85%, whereas cuttings placed in 100% peatmoss callused at ≈53%. The 100% peatmoss treatment, however, yielded cuttings with significantly greater root quality for all measurements, except root number per cutting. Wounding cuttings proved to have deleterious effects on root quality measurements. Total root length was ≈14.5 cm for non-wounded cuttings and ≈10.8 cm for wounded cuttings. Increasing K-IBA concentrations did not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affect rooting or callus percentages but did significantly affect root dry mass, total root length, and average root length per cutting. Total root length increased from 10.8 cm at 0 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA to 16 cm at 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA. Mean root number per cutting increased from ≈1.6 with wounded cuttings planted in 100% peatmoss to ≈3.1 with non-wounded cuttings planted in 100% perlite. Results suggested that high-quality softwood baldcypress cuttings should not be wounded, should be treated with 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA, and grown in a substrate with intermediate water-holding capacity to achieve an acceptable balance between rooting percentage and rooted cutting quality objectives.

In previous studies, baldcypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.] clones were selected for improved field tolerance to alkaline soils, drought, foliar or soil salinity exposure, and for ornamental traits. Objectives of the current research were to 1) determine the clonal responses to potassium salt of indole-3-butyric acid (K-IBA) across seasonal developmental stages of cuttings; and 2) to determine whether rooting and callus percentages and rooted cutting quality (root number, length, and mass) would be sufficient for commercial production should these clones be released to industry. Cuttings were taken from 24 clones at three distinct stages of stem maturity (softwood, semihardwood, and hardwood). Three concentrations of K-IBA were tested [0, 7,500, and 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ (0, 31.1, 62.2 mm, respectively)] on each clone at each stage. Rooting percentages ranged from ≈94% (clone MX1MC33) at the softwood stage to 0% for several clones at the hardwood stage. Some clones such as MX5MC17 rooted at statistically similar percentages in the softwood and semihardwood stages (88% and 83%, respectively). Clone EP3DC16 rooted at low levels (less than 20%) in all stages. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) interactions occurred between growth stage and clone in some cases. Clone EP8DC14 rooted at 59% at the softwood stage but only 37% at the semihardwood stage. Root number and length exhibited three-way interactions (P ≤ 0.05) among clone, developmental stage, and K-IBA concentration. Mean total root length ranged from 2 cm per cutting on semihardwood cuttings of MX2MC31 treated with no growth regulator to 81 cm per cutting on softwood cuttings of TX8DC38 treated with 7500 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA. Mean root length varied from 2 cm for several clones at the semihardwood stage to 11 cm for softwood cuttings of MX2MC31 treated with 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA. The greatest rooting percentages across K-IBA concentrations were typically at the softwood stage. Cuttings treated with either 7,500 or 15,000 mg·L⁻¹ K-IBA rooted at the greatest percentages across stem maturity stages. No clone rooted well in the hardwood stage. The high concentration of K-IBA (15,000 mg·L⁻¹) sometimes induced basal stem damage.

Two-year-old, field-grown golden kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) and fuzzy kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) plants were evaluated for injury following an early freeze event of −4.1 °C on 14 Nov. 2018 in Burleson County, TX. Plant material included seven cultivars: one seed-propagated [Sungold™ (ZESY002)] and three cutting-propagated golden kiwifruit (AU Golden Dragon, AU Golden Sunshine, CK03), and one seed-propagated (Hayward) and two cutting-propagated fuzzy kiwifruit (AU Authur and AU Fitzgerald). Observations were made 5 weeks after the frost event. Base trunk diameter (BD) and maximum trunk diameter damaged (MDD) provided a reference of plant size and crude measurement of damage intensity, as evident by presence of water-soaked necrotic and/or dehydrated tissue following the removal of a thin slice of periderm, vascular cambium, phloem, and xylem. Percent of base diameter damaged (PBDD) was calculated as MDD divided by BD and provided an assessment of damage, unbiased by plant size. Percent of shoot damaged (PSD) was visually evaluated as the percentage of entire shoot system exhibiting damage. In addition, presence of basal damage (DB) and basal cracking (CB) were recorded. A strong cultivar response was observed for BD, MDD, PBDD, and PSD. Mean cultivar values for PSD ranged from 79% and 19% for AU Authur and Sungold™ seedlings, respectively, which represented extremes among cultivars. Fuzzy kiwifruit exhibited greater injury (PBDD, PSD, DB, and CB) as compared with golden kiwifruit cultivars. Basal damage and basal cracking proved unique to fuzzy kiwifruit, as DB ranged from 0% in Sungold™ seedlings to 100% in fuzzy kiwifruit ‘AU Authur’ and ‘AU Fitzgerald’. In spite of having greater vigor, golden kiwifruit plants sustained less injury. Method of propagation had no effect on injury. PBDD and PSD proved to be reliable field assays for documenting injury, based on their strong correlation value (r = 0.92). Greater relative autumn frost tolerance of golden kiwifruit over fuzzy kiwifruit cultivars is previously unreported.