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1. Plant and Shoot Selection
>A shoot with plenty of leaves is chosen from a healthy plant. The size of the stem at the part to be rooted is pencil thick, but depends on the plant part to be layered (trunk, branch or twig), the intended size of the layer to be produced and the plant species.
2.Girdling and Scraping
>This is unique in marcotting. For trees, shrubs and semi-woody plants, a strip of bark 2-5 cm is first removed from around the portion of the stem to be rooted, preferably as close as possible below a node.
>The debarked portion of the stem is then scraped to remove the phloem and cambium, the slippery coating on the wood, to prevent the wound from healing and the upper and lower barks from reconnecting.
3.Slitting and Wedging
>In herbaceous plants, an inward cut is made starting from below a node and slightly upward. This slanting cut must be able to severe the horizontal connection of the node.
>Coir dust, sphagnum moss or a piece of wood or any other suitable material is then inserted into the wound to serve as wedge. The purpose of this wedge is to keep the upper and lower cut surfaces apart and prevent healing just like in girdling and scraping.
4. Placing and Securing the Rooting Medium
>A slightly moistened sphagnum moss or coconut coir dust is placed around the debarked stem and wrapped with a piece of plastic sheet. A transparent plastic sheet is preferred to be able to see later if roots have developed. In many plant species, however, the stems can be marcotted even with pure soil.
>Both ends of the plastic sheet are tied securely against the stem, with one end just under the bottom part of the debarked stem (lower cut) and the other a short distance above the upper part (upper cut). It is important that the upper cut should be covered with the rooting medium because it is from this cut that roots form.
>To prevent breaking of the stem with big and heavy rooting medium, it is tied to another branch or to a stick attached to the parent plant.
5. Separation of the air layer or marcot from the parent plant.
>The rooted shoots are severed from the parent plant when plenty of roots have developed.
>At this time the rooting medium becomes hard and rough when touched. New shoots will also have sprouted from the portion of the stem immediately below the rooting medium. In many plant species this occurs at least 15 days from marcotting.
6. Potting
>The marcotted shoot is immediately potted into suitable container. The intensity of care that will ensure the successful establishment of the layers will depend on various factors such as size of the shoot, size of the rooting medium, and profuseness of roots.
For maximum survival, the newly potted layers are kept under partial shade and high humidity.
Anganifelix answered the question on June 11, 2018 at 14:36
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