The Vegetative Propagation of Cinchona by Cuttings

Abstract

In all perennial crop plantations where propagation by seed is the normal practice, considerable variation in material is evident, and in this respect cinchona is no exception. An alternative method is to use vegetative propagation, by which means the desirable characters of the parent plants can be perpetuated and uniformity obtained. An added advantage is that a fully developed plant is usually obtained in less time than when raised from seed, though Owen [16] considers propagation by cuttings to be slow and uncertain and never likely to be as popular as by seed. But Kreyer [12] rather surprisingly states that sexually reproduced cinchona trees are said to give considerably higher yields than those reproduced vegetatively.