TITLE:
Asexual Propagation of Sheanut Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) Using a Container Layering Technique
AUTHORS:
Naalamle Amissah, Brain Akakpo, Julius Yeboah, Essie Blay
KEYWORDS:
Etiolation; Container Layering Technique; Indolebutyric Acid; Sheanut Tree
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.9,
August
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: In spite of
the economic potential of the sheanut tree (Vitellaria
paradoxa), its domestication still has not been achieved due to the long
juvenile period of seed propagated plants and the absence of a reliable
vegetative propagation method. Three experiments were conducted by using a
modified container layering technique to investigate the effects of season
(rainy and dry season), light treatments (etiolation and natural light) and
indole 3-butyric acid (IBA) on root formation in juvenile and mature sheanut
trees. The effect of light treatments on the internal conditions such as level
of sugars (soluble, insoluble and total sugars) and total free phenols in
layered sheanut shoots was also considered. Rooting was generally lower in the
mature trees (27.9%) compared to that in juvenile 4 year-old plants (40.9%).
Etiolation increased the levels of total sugars and phenols in shoots of 4-year-old plants and mature
fruit bearing trees, but this increase did not significantly enhance rooting
in both the juvenile and mature sheanut trees. The container layering technique
holds promise as a method for the asexual propagation of sheanut planting
material. Roots formed using this method looked healthy and were vertically
orientated giving layered shoots a better chance at survival.