Initial nutritional status and exogenous IBA enhanced the rooting capacity of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) cuttings under mist system.

Rooting is the major hurdle for carob propagation by cutting. this study investigated the effect of initial nutrient contents and exogenous indole-3-butyric acid (iba) on the rooting capacity of herbaceous (hc) and softwood (sc) cuttings in two moroccan populations of carob,tighdouine and tamellalet,under mist condition. herbaceous and softwood cuttings of both populations were subjected to exogenous iba 0,5000,6000,7000,8000 or 9000 mg l-1 during 10 s,30 s or 60 s. obtained results showed that without iba treatment,cuttings were not able to make roots,while all of the treated cuttings initiated roots. moreover,cuttings response varied depending on the iba treatment,type of cutting and origin. the highest rooting percentage (85.2% and 65.71%) and the highest number of roots (10.33 and 9) were obtained with 7000 mg l-1 iba during 60 s in sc and hc of tighdouine population,while with 5000 mg l-1 in sc (9.67 roots initiated in 50.56% cuttings) and hc (6.6 roots initiated in 45.71% cuttings) of tamellalet. cuttings performance was positively correlated with their initial contents of total soluble sugars,p,ca,fe,si,and s and negatively correlated with initial n and na concentrations,but not correlated with initial k,cl,and mn levels. thus,rooting capacity of carob cuttings is predetermined by their initial nutritional status and highly dependent on adequate treatment of exogenous iba.