European Journal of Medicinal Plants 32(1): 29-36, 2021; Article no.EJMP.65289 ISSN: 2231-0894, NLM ID: 101583475 Study on Vegetative Propagation of Elionurus latiflorus (Nees Ex Steud.) Hack Ana Gabriela Buglia1* 1Department of Medicinal Plants, São Paulo State University, 18603-970, Botucatu, Brazil. Author’s contribution The sole author designed, analysed, interpreted and prepared the manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/EJMP/2021/v32i130361 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Prem K. Ramasamy, Brandeis University, USA. (2) Prof. Marcello Iriti, Milan State University, Italy. Reviewers: (1) Rajesh Chauhan, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia. (2) Mahesh Kumar Dhakar, ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, India. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sdiarticle4.com/review-history/65289 Received 01 December 2020 Original Research Article Accepted 02 February 2021 Published 03 March 2021 ABSTRACT Aims: Elionurus latiflorus (Nees ex Steud.) Hack. commonly known as Brazilian lemongrass is a medicinal plant native to Brazil. Present experiment was conducted to study the effect of number of tillers/vegetative unit of transplants on biomass production in a period of 480 days. Study design: The experiment was conducted by using completely randomized design with three treatments i.e. plants transplanted with one tiller (T1), plants transplanted with 2 tillers (T2) and plants transplanted with 3 tillers (T3). These treatments were replicated eight times where transplantations were done in polybags which containing mixture of soil, dung and carbonized rice in 3:1:1 ratio. These polybags were kept for 160 days in greenhouse and pruning was done in every plant by maintaining 5 cm of the plant biomass for its regrowth. Duration of Study: This experiment was carried out over 16 months. Methodology: Every plant seedling was submitted to a cut maintaining approximately 5 cm of the plant biomass for its regrowth. After each pruning, survival percentage, increment in the number of tillers propagated, rise of plants height, fresh as well as dry mass weight were evaluated. Results: Lower initial number of main stems influenced survival only in the early growth phase after transplantation with a loose of 73% of the population transplanted with an unique main stem. Survival kept a constant value without plant mortalities in the successive 320 days evaluated after the first pruning. The number of tillers propagated weren’t affected significantly by the number of initial main stems in a single period. In the other hand, in the comprehensive period of the _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]; Buglia; EJMP, 32(1): 29-36, 2021; Article no.EJMP.65289 experiment there was a change with mean variation from 9.68 to 36.75. Height decreased the mean from 102.82 cm to 26.66 cm. Fresh and Dry Plant Mass increased from 5.19 g/plant to 11.47 g/plant and from 2.17 g/plant to 4.93 g/plant respectively, P˂0.05. Conclusion: This study even if elementary represents a required approach for the domestication of the species avoiding the waste of time and plant material for successive propagation works. It represents a suggestion for further research work in greenhouses with this specie for a validation of these results. Keywords: Brazilian lemongrass; tillers; biomass production. 1. INTRODUCTION such as width, length, color of leaves and flavoring exhaled, can be found, even if Elionurus from the greek word eleuin (to bend) practically extinct due to the destruction of their and oura (tail), alluding that the cylindrical natural occurrence areas caused by the inflorescences are curved [1]. occupation of intensive agriculture [11-13,3,7]. The genus Elionurus, Humb. and Bompl ex Willd, The "Botanical Studies of the Northeast" refers belongs to the Poacea family with about 15 Elionurus latiflorus, and classifies it as part of the species distributed in subtropical and tropical savanna vegetation where the soil is dry and countries, especially in Africa [2], in Australia, stony, which shows that the species has a great Central America, South America, Temperate adaptability; other studies related also the Asia [3,4,1]. maintenance of the plant characteristics even in a mild climate [13-14]. Its perennial, agglomerated and herbaceous species reaches upto one meter in height. Leaves are cetaceous, sometime flat with parallel venation. The roots can be aromatic. Its flowering often occurs between October and December. Due the transplantation and removal of apices of the plants on September, this phonological event happened later, between May and June.The colour of the flowers is white. The species can be propagated by seeds but usual method is to divide clumps. Most grasses are propagated by division to preserve cultivar identity besides resulting in high success rate [5,6]. Grasses are preferably transplanted in-between March-November, however, in colder places it is recommended during March-May or September- November [7]. Among the species of the genus Elionurus is Fig. 1. Plant of Elionurus latiflorus present the specie Elionurus latiflorus (Nees ex Steud.) Hack, Fig. 1, agreed by some authors as The term "lemongrass" attributed to Elionurus a synonym of Elionurus muticus (Spreng.) latiflorus, as already cited, refers to the high Kuntze,in controversy with a previous publication presence of citral in the aerial part of the plant, in which it is recognized as Elionurus latiflorus compound widely used in food, cosmetic and (Nees ex Steud.) [8-10]. pharmaceutical industries, and often obtained through the Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf Commonly known as goat's beard grass or [11,7], this term must be always accompanied by Brazilian lemongrass, it is one of the species of "Brazilian" to understand the denomination Elionurus native to almost the entire coast of avoiding further confusion regarding the name Brazil, mainly from the Northeast till Paraná, and the discoveries. The citral is a compound where plants with different genetic characteristics inherent to Elionurus latiflorus found in a high 30 Buglia; EJMP, 32(1): 29-36, 2021; Article no.EJMP.65289 concentration in the leaves can be used as a plots with 240 plants comprehending the whole marker by chemical companies, attesting the experiment. The three treatments under this genuinely of the origin of the specie, once the experiment include: transplants with 1 tillers (T1), same compound wasn't found in a research transplants with 2 tillers (T2) and with 3 tillers about the chemical composition of the essential (T3). All tillers were cleaned by cutting the oils of Elionurus muticus [15,16]. In the leaves to a length of about 17 cm and were held pharmaceutical industry, citral is used as a raw in their roots and kept in greenhouse at 20°C material for the synthesis of a series of ionones, mean temperature with irrigation mist for about with beta-ionone being specifically used as a 160 days (first pruning - 1st P), 320 days (second starting substance for the synthesis of vitamin A pruning - 2nd P) and 480 days (third pruning - 3rd [17]. In recent studies, Elionurus latiflorus was P). After each cycle of 160 days a harvest was also tested for its antioxidant and antibacterial made for quantitative evaluations in which the activities related to its phenolic compounds and following propagation parameters were other minor compounds [18,19]. observed: survival of plants (%), number of tillers propagated, height (cm), fresh and dry Vegetative propagation by tillers is a method mass/weight (g/plant) of the aerial part. The often employed in studies about propagation of estimated height of the plants was determined grasses and can be considered important from the base to the apices of the developed because tillers are the modular units of growth leaf, with the aid of a ribbon ruler. After for grasses [20]. Tillers can be classified as measurements of survival, number of tillers, vegetative or reproductive, in function of the height and fresh weight, plants were preserved development stage [21]. Vegetative tiller is with a label in paper bags and placed in a forced younger and shorter, more numerous and have air oven at 70°C until constant weight for later also higher morphological composition and weighing of the dry mass. nutritive value than reproductive tiller that presents stem elongation with inflorescence 2.1 Statistical Analysis emission what is important for the continuity of specie population [22]. Data obtained were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey test at 5% of probability, Studies related to the management and through XLStat software package version cultivation of Elionurus latiflorus are still scarce 2013.2, France. despite their fundamental importance, this experiment about vegetative propagation 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION development focused to provide information to fill the lack of knowledge in this regards. Generally, as mentioned, grasses like Elionurus latiflorus should demonstrate an increase in the 1.1 Description of the Study Area number of tillers when plants are shorter and parameter of biomass production (weight) follows The present experiment was carried out at the this tendency, while when plants are higher Department of Medicinal Plants/Horticulture, São should also present a lower density [23,24], it’s a Paulo State University, Botucatu (22°53’09’’S standard response that characterizes the 48°26’42’’W, 840 m) São Paulo, Brazil. This phonotypical plasticity of the grasses and zone has a humid-subtropical weather, with dry consists of a mechanism known as balancing cold winters. between tiller size and density of tillers. 2. METHODOLOGY For a screening of the development of the Elionurus latiflorus, means of the variables were Natural Plants of a single variety of Elionurus compared between the treatments for each one latiflorus with good health aspect was removed of the pruning in each 160 days, as well as for from the collection of medicinal and aromatic every treatment during the stages of its plants and their tillers were separated in the development for the whole period of 480 days, month of September.