Vegetative propagation of Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr. by root segment cuttings: Effect of substrate and length of cuttings

Detarium microcarpum is one of the species of socio-economic interest in the Guinea savannah highlands of Cameroon. Unfortunately, it is coming under increasing pressure in the wild. The aim of the present work was to contribute to the domestication of this Caesalpiniaceae by root segment cuttings in the Bini-Dang locality. Specifically, the effect of substrate and length of root segment cuttings on the ability of this species to bud and root was evaluated. The root segment cuttings were taken in the locality of Karna manga in the early hours of the morning and then transported to the nursery. They were then broken into 15, 20 and 25 cm cuttings. The cuttings thus described were grown in a vertical position in three substrates: black soil, a homogeneous sand/sawdust mixture and a homogeneous black soil/sawdust mixture. The experimental design used was a split-plot with 3 replicates. The first factor was the substrate and the second was the length of the cuttings. The experimental unit was 10 cuttings. At the end of the trial, the results showed that the substrate made up of a homogeneous sand/sawdust mixture was better for budding with 27.77±5.71% despite the non-significant difference between substrates (0.1459 > 0.05). With regard to the length of the cuttings, those of 25 cm showed a good aptitude for budding with 28.88±4.54% compared with those of 15 cm and 20 cm. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between lengths (0.0236 < 0.05). At the end of the trial, none of the cuttings had developed adventitious roots. These results are useful for developing domestication strategies for this species.