Developmental stages during the rooting of in-vitro-cultured Quercus robur shoots from material of juvenile and mature origin

In-vitro-cultured shoots of clones initiated from shoots of the basal parts (BS) and the crown (C) of two mature Quercus robur L. trees were subjected to rooting experiments to relate rooting with shoot topophysical origin. The BS shoots exhibited morphologically juvenile characteristics and rooted more easily after indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) treatment than C shoots. When naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) was applied to BS shoots, rooting capacity decreased and root emergence was delayed at least 2 days compared with shoots treated with IBA only. During the first days of the rooting process, endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) concentration was higher in C shoots than in BS shoots, regardless of whether the shoots were treated with NPA. Mitotic figures were observed in cells from the basal part of both BS and C shoots 24 h after IBA treatment. After 4 days of IBA treatment, the occurrence of histological events differed between BS shoots and C shoots. Cells of BS shoots became meristematic, giving rise to meristemoids and root primordia, whereas no differentiation of root meristemoids occurred in cells of C shoots. Thus, although adult oak material (C shoots) is capable of responding to the initial stimulus of auxin during the adventitious rooting process, the endogenous IAA concentration is not the factor limiting rooting in adult material.