Shooting of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) stem cuttings in cold greenhouse

The increasing interest in Arundo donax, a perennial lignocellulosic species only reproducing by propagation, requires the setup of cheap, simple and reliable techniques. Considering these targets, stem cutting offers considerable advantages. The present investigation aimed to compare: i) plants obtained by different propagation methods (by rhizome and micropropagation mother plants); ii) plants obtained by stem cuttings from basal, central and apical parts of the stem; iii) different planting periods (spring, summer, autumn). The obtained results showed that the number of new shoots from stem buds was: i) higher in the spring and lower in the summer planting period; ii) higher from cuttings obtained by micropropagated than rhizome mother plants, both in spring and summer plantings; iii) decreasing passing from the basal to the apical stem portion; iv) partly unexpressed in the autumn planting period; v) lower from one-year stem cuttings as compared to two-year stem cuttings.