Committee Chair

Craddock, J. Hill

Committee Member

Barbosa, Jose; Shaw, Joey

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

American plum, Prunus americana Marsh., is a native tree valued for wildlife and wildland restoration. To propagate this tree for germplasm conservation, this study investigated the optimal season of collection and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) treatment for a viable rooted stem-cutting method. Cuttings were collected from trees in eight locations in May, July, and September, treated with 0-ppm, 1000-ppm, 3000-ppm, or 8000-ppm IBA for five seconds, and held in a mist propagation bed with basal heat for four to six weeks. The results of this study show that (1) rooted cuttings are a viable propagation method for wild-collected American plum, (2) rooting was greatest for May- or July-collected cuttings treated with 3000-ppm or 8000-ppm IBA, (3) cuttings treated with 8000-ppm IBA produced the most roots, (4) May-collected rooted cuttings had greater survival that July or September rooted cuttings, and (5) shoot length was longer for May-collected cuttings treated with 8000-ppm IBA.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Dr. Hill Craddock for his mentorship, support, and encouragement in pursuing graduate school and research. Without his investment in my education from undergrad to graduate school, I would not have the opportunities I have now. I am grateful to Dr. Scott Schlarbaum for allowing me to intern with the University of Tennessee Tree Improvement Program, which ultimately led to this study’s research question. He made this research possible through mentorship and financial support. Thank you to Paola Zannini for her friendship and help to water those pesty plums. Dillon Simpson and Catherine were also extremely helpful to me in the greenhouse. Finally, I am grateful to my committee members, Drs. Jose Barbosa and Joey Shaw, for your expertise and advice on this project. The Graduate School at UT Chattanooga also supported travel for data collection for this project.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2023

Subject

Prunus--Propagation--United States; Prunus--Cuttings--United States; Prunus--Conservation--United States

Keyword

Prunus americana; rooted cuttings; germplasm; conservation horticulture; indole-3-butyric acid;

Discipline

Fruit Science

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

ix, 70 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Fruit Science Commons

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