Effect of sick soil inoculation on ‘Masui Dauphine’ fig cutting grown in root box

Abstract

Fig cuttings of ‘Masui Dauphine’ (Ficus carica L.) were grown in root boxes with ca. 350 mL of sterilized coarse sand. Thirty mL of sick soil and healthy soil were inoculated over the soil surface of the root boxes. The growth of observable roots was traced daily, through the transparent plates, and summed to give the root lengths until 30 days after inoculation. Occasionally, the representative roots of cuttings were sampled and its respiration rates were measured with an oxygen electrode unit. The sick soil inoculation did not affect the primary root elongation. However, the shoot growth and secondary root elongation were inhibited immediately after the sick soil inoculation. Enhanced respiration, likely a wound respiration, was observed in the rootlet of sick soil inoculated cuttings without obvious visual disorder.