Abstract:

Using the endangered plant Actinidia chrysantha as material, the cutting propagation experiment was carried out with different substrates (riversand+moss, quartz sand, perlite+riversand and foster earth). Their root characteristics and leaf traits were determined to select the best substrate. The results showed that the effect of different substrates on rooting ratio was extremely distinct. Among these substrates, foster earth had the highest rooting ratio which reached up to 93.02%, followed by perlite+riversand (84.31%) and river sand+moss (70.89%), while quartz sand had the lowest rooting ratio, which was only 42.04%. Furthermore, cutting seedlings on foster earth performed the best in root length, root diameter, lateral root series, root dry weight, root total length, root total surface area, leaf area, leaf length, leaf width, leaf dry weight. In addition, they had better growth vigour and would develop to be individuals which were 0.8-1.0 cm in diameter and 1.5 m in height within one year. Therefore, it could be concluded that the foster earth was the best substrate for cutting propagation of Actinidia chrysantha.