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.