The levels of IAA, IAAsp and some phenolics in cherry rootstock ‘GiSelA 5’ leafy cuttings pretreated with IAA and IBA

The influence of exogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on changes in the internal levels of IAA, indole-3-acetylaspartic acid (IAAsp) and antioxidant phenolics (chlorogenic acid and (−)-epicatechin) was studied during the first 5 days of adventitious root formation in leafy cuttings of cherry rootstock ‘GiSelA 5’. The highest free and conjugated IAA accumulations in the cutting bases were observed in the IAA treated cuttings, but that did not promote the percentage of cuttings rooted. During the first month of rooting, 43% of IAA treated cuttings and 30% of control cuttings developed roots. IBA gave the best propagation results, as 80% of cuttings formed roots during the first month of rooting. This indicates the influence of IBA on early root development, independently of IAA. Owing to different treatments, differences in the auxin levels caused no changes in the chlorogenic acid and (−)-epicatechin fluctuations; thus, in our experiment, their influence proved less important for root development than the chosen auxin application.