CUTTING TYPES COLLECTED AT DIFFERENT SEASONS ON BLACKBERRY MULTIPLICATION

Blackberry is a shrubby perennial tree with high economic importance among horticultural crops in several countries. The fruit has a good market value, both at national and international level. The objective of this work was to evaluate the multiplication of blackberry cv. Xavante cuttings under different seasons over the year, aiming to improve the production of nursery plants. The experiment was carried out from April 2012 to March 2013 and it was laid out in randomized complete block design with different types of cutting: tip, softwood, semihardwood and root, examined in different seasons: autumn, spring and summer, with 5 replications and 10 cuttings per plot. The variables studied were: cutting rooting, cutting survival, number of roots, length of major roots and roots dry weight. Cuttings of blackberry had a significant temporal variation in the percentage of successful rooting and survival of cuttings. It was verified that softwood and semihardwood cuttings collected in summer are the best option for blackberry cv. Xavante multiplication for commercial production of nursery plants.