Effects of substrate and mycorrhizal inoculum on stem segment cuttings of Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Fabaceae) in the Guinean savannah highlands of Cameroon

Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir is a woody species of the Sudano-Guinean to Sudano-Sahelian zones with very high food, medicinal and commercial potential leading to the overexploitation. This study aimed to contribute to the domestication of this species using stem segment cuttings. The sand/sawdust and black soil/sawdust substrates were inoculated with 0.10, and 20 g of mycorrhizae. The split plot with 4 repetitions was used as the experimental method and set at 10 cuttings per unit. The experience revealed that the appropriate substrate and dose of mycorrhizae for the budding of stem segment cuttings (SSC) were the sand/sawdust mixture (25.00 ± 18.34 %) and 10 g (23.75 ± 5.63 %) respectively. Satisfactory result was recorded in 10 g (4.18 ± 2.52 cm) dose of mycorrhizae for the height of the aerial axes with abundant number of leaves per aerial observed in the sand/sawdust substrate (2.36 ± 0.48). Concerning the rooting ability of the cuttings, adequate substrate for the number of newly formed roots is the sand/sawdust mixture (25.00 ± 18.34 %) while the dose of 10 g of mycorrhizae favoured the appearance of roots (23.75 ± 14.07 %). The best substrate for the length of newly formed roots is the sand/sawdust mixture (10.64 ± 7.14 cm) and 10 g of mycorrhizae improved the length (9.82 ± 6.40 cm) for Senegal rosewood. Given the above results, we can admit that the improvement of certain parameters (budding, rooting) in P. erinaceus is possible by vegetative propagation.