STUDY ON THE VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION OF SOME BEGONIA L.

SPECIES
Manda Manuela, Nicu Carmen
1
Key words: Begonia sp.; vegetative propagation; rooting medium
ABSTRACT
The present paper presents the results regarding the vegetative propagation of some
Begonia species. The rooting duration and the quality of the cuttings rooted at the studied
species were monitored in two kinds of media: peat and sand; peat and perlite. Parameters
investigated include the rooting duration and the quality evaluation of the cuttings according to
the used medium, by determining the length of the cuttings, the number and the length of the
roots. The rooting duration was different from a species to another: between ! days at
Begonia re" #$airy% and &&& days at Begonia masoniana. The most indicated rooting medium
according to the species was peat and sand for Begonia masoniana and peat and perlite for B.
re" #$airy% and B. re" #'nca $ire% .
INTRODUCTION
Begonia is the largest genus of flowering plants, with 1400 1500 species and hybrids
with an infinite selection of sizes, growth habits, foliages, and flowers !t consists of herbaceous
perennials that are widely culti"ated as ornamental houseplants, mainly for their showy flowers
and colorful lea"es #$"oslef % & and Munster C, '00() *oorenbos et al, 1++,) -ebbitt
CMar., '005) -/ia 0 and 1 2 0lac., '0034 !n recent years, many field sur"eys on begonias
had been carried out in the world and new species continues to be disco"ered and described !t
is estimated that there are about 10,000 0egonia hybrids and culti"ars worldwide #5eng et al,
'0104 -he genus is widely distributed and mostly pantropical #6orrest et al, '0054
Most foliage begonias, especially the 1e7 types, are "ery useful design elements
because of the large selection of colors and patterns a"ailable !n many cases, the foliage
begonias are e7cellent alternati"e to some of the flowering potted plants because they offer
different colours, te7tures, and a product which outlasts most floral products by a considerable
margin #-/ia 0, '003) 5oole and $enley, 1+,+4
1
6aculty of %griculture and $orticulture, 8ni"ersity of Craio"a
9i"en the wide di"ersity of species and "arieties within the 0egonia genus, the
.nowledge of the biological characteristics of plants and their response to "arious
en"ironmental and agro:technical wor.s are essential in the design and application of the
ad"anced technologies #;elaru <lena, '0004
0egonias can be propagated using a number of different methods, but most commonly
from seeds, stem cuttings and leaf cuttings #%nton *, '00() Cruceru ;, '00() $artmann -$ ,
1++3) =idra>cu 5, '00'4 6rom ?leaf cutting? method of propagation is often considered the
method of choice amongst growers and is more common with re7 and rhizomatous begonias
#@yeyemi 0, '0114
-he researches in our country are scarce and worldwide are not systematic) the optimal
medium for rooting differ from author to author and from species to species Common
mediums recommended for rooting cuttings of begonia are perlite and "ermiculite or a
combination of both %nother medium for rooting is peat moss or "arious combos of peat
moss, perlite, and "ermiculite #-hompson, 0, '00'4 Claude 6erry, '004 recommends a
nutriti"e ground of (0A peat, 30A lea"es soil and 10A sand plus a slow releasing fertilizer of
1(:11:11 type, the appropriate p$ being (:(5 #Cruceru ;, '00B4
-his paper presents the results of the "egetati"e propagation #by leaf cuttings4 of two
species of the Begonia genusC B. masoniana and B. re", for the last species being also studied
two "arietiesC D!nca 6ireD and D6airyD -he "egetati"e propagation of the studied species of
0egonia was monitored using two media for rootingC peat and sand #1C14) peat and perlite #1C14
MATERIAL AND METHODS
-he initial biological material consisted of Begonia masoniana, Begonia re" D!nca 6ireD
>i Begonia re" D6airyD cuttings, obtained from the 6loriculture discipline collection of the
6aculty of %griculture and $orticulture in Craio"a
Begonia masoniana 'rmsch., originally from China, is a robust plant with large #1(:'0
cm length and 10:1' cm width4 cordiforme, embossed lea"es with red hairs on the top folds and
a brown drawing in the form of a cross on the line of the main "eins, hence the name ?iron
cross?
Begonia " re" cultorum Bailey includes many hybrids with rhizomatic, pulpy,
creeping way of growing stems, and it is the most common begonia culti"ated for its
ornamental lea"es -he lea"es are "ery beautiful, cordiforme:asymmetric, embossed, sharply
pointed, with a wa"y and slightly serrated edge -he colour "aries from green to reddish purple
or sil"er and has concentric zones, spots or mosaics in shades and different colours, which are
also "ery attracti"e -he pin. or red flowers are insignificant compared to the lea"es #%nton
*oina, '00(4
Begonia re" D!nca 6ireD is '5 cm high and 40 cm diameter -he lea"es are 13 cm long
and + cm width, are s.ew:asymmetric, o"ate, of red colour with metallic luster -he petiole is
red and co"ered with pin. hairs
Begonia re" D6airyD is '0 cm high and 40 cm diameter -he lea"es are 1B cm long and
1' cm width, are s.ew:asymmetric, o"ate, of oli"e green colour with large sil"ery spots on the
upper side and red on the lower side -he petiole is red co"ered with red hairs
-he research was conducted between '011 and '01' in the greenhouse of the
6loriculture discipline of the 6aculty of %griculture and $orticulture, a greenhouse with
a"erage temperatures ranging between 1, and '0EC, during e7perimentation -he "egetati"e
propagation of the studied species of 0egonia was monitored using two media for rootingC peat
and sand #1C14) peat and perlite #1C14, resulting in the following e7perimental "ariantsC = 11: 0
masonianaF5G5) =1':0masonianaF5GN) ='1:0 re7 H!nca 6ireIF5G5) ='':0 re7 H!nca
6ireIF5GN) =31:0 re7 H6airyIF5G5) =3':0 re7 H6airyIF5GN -here were used leaf mature
cuttings, har"ested in No"ember '011 -he cuttings were reaped, shaped and treated with
1adistim1 5arameters in"estigated include the rooting duration and the Juality e"aluation of
the cuttings according to the used medium, by determining the length of the cuttings, the
number and the length of the roots
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
-he data presented in -able 1 show that the percentage of rooting of the 0egonia
cuttings was not influenced by the rooting substrate, the recorded "alues being ma7imal #100A4
for all the e7perimental "ariants
%nalyzing the effect of the substrate on the rooting duration of the cuttings, there was
obser"ed that for B. masoniana the best results were obtained in the peatG sand substrate, when
the rooting duration of the cuttings was of 10B days #=114, compared to 115 days for the peat G
perlite substrate #=1'4 #-able 14
-he best substrate for the rooting of the B. re" D!nca 6ireD cuttings was peat G perlite,
the rooting duration of the cuttings being of BB days in comparison to ,B days for the peat G
sand substrate
6or the B. re" D6airyD the best results of the rooting of the cuttings were obtained in the
peat G perlite substrate #(( days4, compared to B' days when the cuttings were rooted in peat G
sand
Ma.ing a comparison between the two species, the results show "ery large differences
in terms of the rooting duration of the cuttings -he best results in this respect were obtained for
B. re" with "alues ranging between (+ days and ,' days, as compared to B. masoniana which
rooted after 111 days #-able 14
0etween the two "arieties of B. re" the difference in terms of the rooting duration of
the cuttings was of 15 days for the D6airyD "ariety, the a"erage "alues ranging between (+ and
,' days
-able 1
-he effect of the substrate on the rooting duration of Begonia sp.
=ariants
*ata har"esting
leaf cuttings
*ata rooting
cuttings
1ooting
duration
Media
=11: 0 masonianaF5G5
511'011
'B0''01' 115
111
=1':0 masonianaF5G; 1+0''01' 10B
='1:0 re7 H!nca 6ireIF5G5 '001'01' BB
,'
='':0 re7 H!nca 6ireIF5G; 3001'01' ,B
=31:0 re7 H6airyI F5G5 +01'01' ((
(+
=3':0 re7 H6airyIF5G; 1501'01' B'
!n chart 1, the a"erage number of roots for the two species of 0egonia recorded the
highest "alues of the cuttings rooting in the peat G perlite substrate, the "alues ranging between
,5 and 1''5 rootsFplant, in comparison to ,5 :10 rootsFplant, the latter "alues corresponding
to the peat G sand substrate
1egarding the a"erage length of roots for the B. masoniana cuttings, the highest "alues
were recorded for the peat G sand substrate #=1':100( cm4, and for the two "arieties of B. re"
the ma7imum "alues of the root length correspond to the peat G perlite substrate #='1:+0, cm
for B. re" D!nca fireD, =31:+' cm for B. re" (6airyD4
Chart 1 -he effect of the substrate type on the rooting of the
Begonia masoniana, B. re" ('nca $ire( and B. re" ($airy( cuttings
-he chart ' shows that the Begonia masoniana seedlings de"eloped better in the peat G
sand substrate #4B4 cm high and 114' cm diameter4, in comparison to the rooted cuttings in
the peat G perlite substrate #44' cm high and +,B cm diameter4
6or the two "arieties of Begonia re" the best results in terms of the "egetati"e growth
were obtained using the peat G perlite substrate #45, cm high, 11'5 cm diameter for D!nca 6ireD
and 4+' cm high, 13' cm diameter for D6airyD4
Chart ' -he effect of the rooting substrate on the height and diameter of the seedlings
CONCLUSIONS
-he differences between the two species of Begonia in terms of the rooting duration of
the cuttings were significant, ranging between (+ and ,' days for Begonia re", in comparison to
Begonia masoniana which rooted after 111 days
-he best results in terms of the rooting duration were obtained for Begonia masoniana
in the peat G sand substrate, and for the two "arieties of Begonia re" in the peat G perlite
substrate
6or Begonia re" species there is a difference of 15 days between the a"erage "alues of
the rooting duration in the fa"our of the D6airyD "ariety
1egarding the a"erage length of roots, the highest "alues were recorded by B.
masoniana for the peat G sand substrate, and for the two "arieties of B. re" the ma7imum root
length "alues correspond to the rooted plants on the peat G perlite substrate
-he a"erage number of roots, depending on the used rooting substrate, recorded the
highest "alues for rooting the cuttings in the peat G perlite substrate, for the both species of
0egonia
!n terms of the effect of the rooting substrate on the a"erage height and diameter of the
seedlings, the best substrate for Begonia masoniana and B.re" D6airyD was the peat and sand, and
the best results for B re" D!nca 6ireD were recorded in the peat G perlite substrate
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