2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Pacific lovegrass (Eragrostis deflexa) is a Hawaiian endemic found on the dry to mesic areas of Hawaii and Lanai islands. Its upright growth and clumping habit make it a potential native ornamental grass for landscapes. To evaluate its use as an ornamental, mass propagation techniques must be explored. In this study, the viability of vegetative propagation through division and the use of rooting hormone soaks on increasing rooting of clumps were assessed. Field grown E. deflexa was divided into bareroot clumps consisting of ten stems with about 3 to 4 new shoots per clump. Top portions of the clumps were cut to 20 cm in length and roots cut to 10 cm length. Clumps were soaked for 24 hours in 0, 1:20, or 1:10 dilution of Dip‘N Grow (tap water; 500 ppm indolebutyric acid [IBA] and 250 ppm naphthalene acetic acid [NAA]; and 1000 ppm IBA and 500 ppm NAA). Non-soaked clumps served as the control. Clumps were planted in 1:1 by volume mix of perlite:vermiculite and placed under shaded intermittent mist conditions (15 seconds every 5 minutes). A total of ten clumps per treatment were planted per replicate (n=3). Percent rooting and number of green shoots were recorded 46 days after planting. Untreated (non-soaked) clumps exhibited significantly higher percent rooting (73%) compared with clumps soaked in tap water (3%). Number of green shoots between non-soaked and tap water soaked clumps were not significantly different. Soaking clumps in rooting hormone (1:20 and 1:10 dilutions) resulted in complete death of all clumps. Results of the study indicate that division (without soaking in water) can be an option for E. deflexa propagation. However, this may only result in moderate success.