PRODUCTION OF PEAR TREES GRAFTED UNDER HYDROPONIC CONDITIONS

The objective this work was to evaluate the growth and development of Taiwan Naschi-C (Pyrus calleryana Decne) pear rootstocks and scions cultivated hydroponically. The design of the first experiment was in randomized blocks with three replicates involving 75 rootstocks grown from germinated seedlings maintained under hydroponic conditions. The experimental design used in the second experiment was a completely randomized, in a 3x3 factorial arrangement (three cultivars – 'Triunfo', 'Tenra ' and 'Cascatense ' and three grafting methods – patch budding, inverted T budding and full cleft grafting), and three times of evaluation, with four replications. Scions of pear cultivars were grafted under hydroponic conditions to prepared rootstocks. Of the 225 rootstocks, 62 % reached transplanting stage (15 cm height) at 37 days after transfer (DAT) to hydroponic conditions and 60 % attained grafting stage (4–6 mm diameter stem) at 77 DAT. Full cleft grafting was more efficient and grafts suitable for commercialization were obtained 35 days after grafting (DAG). 'Triunfo ' was the most suitable scion, since at 42 DAG the shoot growth of grafts was superior to that obtained with other cultivars. The hydroponics is a viable technique for the propagation of pear plants. Key-words: Pyrus calleryana; grafting techniques; propagation; Taiwan Naschi-