Abstract
Asexual reproduction ensures that advantageous genetic traits and characteristics of parental
trees are passed onto progeny. Furthermore, seedlings grow very fast during the developmental
period. To enhance the population size and improve reproduction of Casuarina equisetifolia, this
study investigated how various factors influence the rooting quality of water-cultured C. equisetifolia.
Using a recently developed technique, young branch cuttings were grown in water culture.
To identify optimal conditions for water culture reproduction, various cuttings aged 3 and 6 mo
were expored to a napthaleneacetic acid (NAA) concentration of 50 ppm. Cutting lengths of < 10
cm had better rooting quantity than 10~15-cm cuttings. The rooting percentage of cuttings with
wound treatment was 86.7% compared to 73.3% for cuttings without wound treatment. The cutting
types used in this ‘water culture’ of rooting quantity were 2.1 for cuttings with branches and 1.8 for
those without branches. The results of this study can be used to develop techniques to improve the
rooting rate and lower the costs of growing C. equisetifolia seedlings for use in coastal regions of
Taiwan.