Carolina Buckthorn (Rhamnus caroliniana Walt.) was
significantly higher (88 %) than 36 years old adult plants
(17 %) (Graves 2002). Similarly, the rooting rate of cuttings
from juvenile trees was up to 100 % compared to
30 % from adult trees in Sequoia sempervirens (Huang
et al. 1992). On the bases of this relationship between
juvenility and rooting, the induction of rejuvenation might
be helpful to achieve better rooting and propagating ability
in many woody plants. Serial grafting of adult buds onto
seedling rootstocks in the field can lead to rejuvenation
(Delargy and Wright 1979; Husen 2008b; Husen and Pal
2003; Huang et al. 1992).The apical meristem culture was
the best solution for the rejuvenation of woody perennials
(Greenwood 1987).
The adventitious rooting ability of many apple dwarfing
rootstocks is poor. Although it appears that juvenile rootstocks
are easier to root than mature ones, there is little data
detailing the extent of these differences. Malus xiaojinensis
is a potential apple rootstock tolerant to low iron stress
(Zha et al. 2014). Apomictic seedlings of M. xiaojinensis
have been identified SSR and SNP markers (Wang et al.
2012). Softwood cuttings collected from juvenile apomictic
seedling and canopy shoots of reproductively mature trees
will be a couple of ideal materials to evaluate the significance
of juvenility on adventitious rooting of softwood
cuttings. In this study, the rooting ability of softwood
cuttings of several apple rootstocks was evaluated and the
impacts of the juvenility on adventitious rooting potential
were investigated.