Propagation of black currants by single-noded cuttings

Single-noded cuttings were taken from four regions of one-year-old black currant shoots in September 1966, before winter chilling had begun, and stored at 1 °C for 0, 4, 8 or 12 weeks before being inserted in seed trays and placed in a growth room at 20 °C, with continuous illumination. Cuttings from the lower half of shoots rooted and grew well with or without chilling, but cuttings from the upper middle quarter of shoots rooted better after 8 or more weeks in cold storage. Few cuttings from the top region rooted, even after 12 weeks of cold. Cold storage accelerated subsequent bud burst, as did 2 minutes’ treatment with GA₃ at 100 ppm.

In the field, dormancy of buds on intact plants increased after September and was pronounced in December. However, cuttings from all regions of shoots taken from plants in the field in January and immediately placed in the growth room rooted and grew well