air layering

1. Asexual Propagation

2. Asexual Propagation
– controlled perpetuation of plants.
Its objective is to achieve an
increase in number to preserve the
essential characteristic of a plant.

3. Reasons/Importance
–Production of true to type plant (genetically
identical)
–Propagation of plants that does not
generally produce seeds (breadfruit)
–Propagation of plants that produce seed but
are difficult to germinate (banana, abaca)
–Shorter maturity period of plants/early
bearing
–Production of uniform asexual rootstock

4. Characteristics of a good rootstock
• good root system
• resistant to soil-borne-disease
• resistant to drought

5. Methods of asexual propagation
• Cutting – propagation technique where in a vegetable
parts is detached/removed from the mother plant and
is subjected to a condition favorable for the
regeneration of roots and production of shoots.
• Air layering/marcotting – adventitious roots are
caused to form on stem while still attached to the
mother plant.
• Garfting – art of connecting or joining two plant parts
and allowing it to unite and grow as one plant.
• Budding – a form of grafting where in the scion is
limited only to a single bud.

6. Air Layering
• Principle of air layering/marcotting
Restricting the flow or interruption of the
downward movement of organic materials
(CHO, growth regulators and other growth
factors) synthesized from the leaves and
growing shoot tips, accumulating those
materials above the wound thereby
stimulating rooting.

7. Advantage of Marcotting over Cutting
• Stress avoidance – treated branch is still
supplied with water and nutrients by the
mother plant.
• Disadvantages:
– Requires more skill
– Needs more time
– More complicated
– Requires other materials

8. Factors affecting rooting of layered
plants
• skill of the propagator – branch selection
• removal of the cambium layer (composed of actively
dividing tissues) which when not completely remove
will regenerate to phloem vessels or re-growth of the
bark.
• condition of the mother plant (vegetative stage)
• rooting medium – characteristics of a good rooting
medium: a) good aeration, b) good moisture supply, c)
able to supply nutrients
• wrapping materials – to prevent moisture loss, must
be transparent, stable and strong
• treatment – growth regulators e.g. ANAA, IBA, IAA

9. Plant cell characteristics that make
propagation by cutting possible
Totipotency – a plant cell characteristic by which
a single living vegetative cell contains all the
genetic information needed to regenerate an
entire plant.
Dedifferentiation – a plant cell characteristics by
which a mature or differentiated cell could
return back to meristematic condition.

10. Materials Needed
• rooting medium – create an environment similar
to the soil (dark environment, moisture, nutrient,
aeration).
• cellophane – any transparent material for the
ease in checking emerging shoots
• a good and healthy mother plant
• tying material
• sharp knife or cutter
• root inducer (for difficult to root and expensive
planting material).