Articles
SEASONAL CHANGES IN CARBOHYDRATE LEVELS AND ROOTING EFFICIENCY OF MACADAMIA
Reserves built up to peaks in winter and midsummer.
After the winter peak, the TNSC content fell and this coincided with flowering and a growth flush.
Following the summer peak, the fall in TNSC was accompanied by nut maturation and a growth flush.
Girdling in winter accentuated TNSC build-up and reduced its rate of depletion in all three types of tissue.
After girdling there was immediate and marked increase in TNSC. Thereafter cinctured shoots exhibited seasonal trends similar to untreated shoots but slightly delayed.
Cuttings were taken from non-flushing shoots of six different cultivars during winter and early summer.
Significant differences in rooting success occurred between cultivars and in different seasons.
Cuttings of easy-to-root cultivars gave good rooting, regardless of TNSC levels, while shy-rooting cultivars rooted better when reserves were high in winter.
Girdling did not influence rooting in winter but improved survival rates.
It improved rooting of cuttings struck when TNSC levels were naturally low during early summer.
Declining levels of TNSC in flushing shoots were associated with progressive stages of shoot extension.
In contrast to rooting results from non-flushing shoots, cuttings from flushing shoots exhibited an inverse relationship between rooting success and TNSC.