Cuttings from older trees of the Dipterocarpaceae generally lose their ability to root. However, branches in a canopy of
adult dipterocarps are a possible source of cuttings because they show juvenile characteristics in architecture due to “adaptive
reiteration”, suggesting physiological rejuvenation. Effects of resource plant size on the rooting of cuttings and the possibility
of using cuttings from reiterated branches of adult trees were studied for
Dryobalanops lanceolata, an emergent dipterocarp species. A cutting experiment with non-mist propagators was conducted for cuttings collected from
resource plants of four different size classes: <2 m, 2–5 m, 8–15 m, and 70 m in height. The smallest size class included
two different age classes: <2 and >2 years old. Cuttings from the tallest resource plant were collected from reiterated branches.
Rooting percentage was negatively correlated with resource plant size: 77–78% for resource plants <2 m, 63% for 2–5 m, 36%
for 8–15 m, and 0% for 70 m. Rooting percentages of cuttings collected from different individuals were not different for the
2–5 m tall class, while they were significantly different for the 8–15 m tall class. Resource plant size was negatively correlated
with the number of roots for rooted cuttings. No significant relationship was observed between resource plant size and mean
length of each root, total root length or total root dry weight for rooted cuttings. The results suggest the possibility of
collecting cuttings from relatively large resource plants up to 15 m tall and >20 years old if we chose good individuals for
resource plants. The results, however, show the difficulty in using reiterated branches of adult trees as a source of cuttings
for
D.
lanceolata.
Key words Cutting experiment - Dipterocarpaceae - Dryobalanops lanceolata - Rooting ability - Vegetative propagation
Received: October 15, 2001 / Accepted: November 11, 2002
Acknowledgments We express our sincere thanks to Dr. S. Tamura, Dr. K. Ogino, and Mr. A.A. Hamid for their kind support. The tree tower was
constructed in a cooperative project between Japan and Sarawak supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology, Japan (Grant NP0201). The cutting experiment was partly funded by the Nippon Life Insurance Foundation and
the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS-RFTF96R16001).
Correspondence to:A. Itoh