The effect of Rootstocks on Bud-take and Bud Growth Vigour of Rose (<i>Rosa spp</i>) Cultivar ‘First Red\'

Abstract

A rootstock trial was conducted at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Juja (Latitude 1o 05´ S; longitude 37o 01´ E) to investigate the success of the rootstock-scion combination and the vigour of the sprouted bud. Three rootstocks, namely Rosa multiflora, Rosa indica ‘Major\', and Rosa canina ‘Inermis\', were budded with scions of rose cultivar ‘First Red\' Bud union success significantly greater in R. indica ‘Major\' (90%) than in R. multiflora (77.8%), and R. canina ‘Inermis\' (55%), respectively. As the number of days from date of budding increased, significant differences were observed on growth performance of scion shoots. At 42 days, there were no significant differences in growth vigour of R. multiflora and R. indica ‘Major\' but both rootstocks were significantly different from R. canina ‘Inermis\'. At 63 days, R. multiflora had significantly longer stems than R. indica ‘Major\' and R. canina ‘Inermis\'. The number of harvested flowers per plant was significantly higher in R. multiflora than in R. canina ‘Major\' and R. canina ‘Inermis\'. The stem diameter and percent marketable blooms did not differ significantly in the various bud combinations. No significant differences were observed in the stem length in R. multiflora and R. indica ‘Major\', but R. canina ‘Inermis\' was significantly shorter. The number of days to first flower was significantly greater in R. canina ‘Inermis\' than for R. indica ‘Major\' and for R. multiflora.

Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol.3(2) 2001: 57-67