Vegetative multiplication of native <scp>Cerrado</scp> grasses for ecological restoration

The Brazilian Cerrado is mainly formed by open physiognomies containing a biodiverse herbaceous layer. Restoring this herbaceous layer in disturbed land depends on the availability of propagules for herbaceous species. Wild grasses typically produce low‐quality seeds; therefore, developing strategies for vegetative multiplication may be an alternative. We evaluated the vegetative multiplication of five native grasses from the Brazilian Cerrado under greenhouse conditions. Tillers were removed from the matrices produced in the greenhouse and transplanted into tubes filled with a commercial substrate mixed with a controlled‐release fertilizer. We dipped the base of half the tillers in powdered indolebutyric acid (IBA) (4,000 ppm) to evaluate its effect on vegetative multiplication and assessed survival and growth at 30 and 150 days after transplantation. Seedling survival was negatively affected by IBA, strongly variable among species (from 8.4% to 46.4%) and higher for species with rhizomes. Relative growth rates in height and base diameter, as well as biomass partitioning, varied among species, but this, along with all other variables, was not affected by IBA addition. Echinolaena inflexa had the highest survival, whereas Trachypogon spicatus had the highest number of tillers and stood out in basal diameter growth and root biomass. Vegetative multiplication of Cerrado grasses is promising but varies according to species. Based on the results of our study, we do not recommend using IBA for the vegetative multiplication of these grasses. However, further studies are needed to understand how plant traits and environmental variables affect the vegetative multiplication of wild grasses under nursery conditions.