VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION OF <em>RICINODENDRON</em> <em>HEUDELOTU</em>, A WEST AFRICAN FRUIT TREE

Abstract

Leafy stem cuttings of Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill) Pierre ex Pax, a West African fruit tree, were taken from seedlings or coppice shoots and inserted in a low-technology non-mist propagation system in Cameroon. Three separate experiments were tested: (i) six propagation media, namely sawdust (SD), fine sand (FS), medium sand (MS), gravel (G), and 50:50 mixtures of G:SD and MS:SD; (ii) four IBA concentrations, namely 0,8, 40 and 200 µg IBA dissolved in 10 µl of alcohol; and (iii) four leaf area treatments, namely 0, 25, 50 and 80 cm², obtained using paper templates. The overall effect of propagation mediumon final rooting percentage was highly significant (p = 0.003, ANOVA), highest values being recorded in FS and SD. The number of roots per rooted cutting also differed markedly between treatments, mean values ranging from 3.8 to 7.3 in G and SD respectively. Application of IBA had no significant effect on final rooting percentage, although root number was positively related to IBA concentration, values ranging from 2.7 to 10.5 in 0 and 250 µg respectively. Leaf area had a highly significant effect on rooting percentage and root number (p < 0.001, ANOVA), with highest values recorded in the 80 cm² treatment. Defoliated cuttings completely failed to root. The maximum rooting percentages exceeding 80% obtained in all three experiments indicate that R. heudelotii is amenable to vegetative propagation using these techniques, which should be of value to current domestication efforts.