In the Guinea savannah highlands of Cameroon, Vitex doniana (Verbenaceae) belongs to the category of tree species which in the wild provide important non-timber forest products to populations. The present study is designed to assess the effects of substrate and length of cuttings on the rooting ability. The root system of 15 genotypes was partially excavated to a depth of 20 cm. Root Segments Cuttings (RSC) of 10, 15 and 20 cm long were carefully cut and arranged vertically in a non-mist propagator, in three different substrates (sand, sawdust and black soilsawdust). The experimental design used was a split-plot with three replications. The main treatment consisted of three substrates. The sub-treatment was represented by three lengths of RSC. The experimental unit was constituted of 10 cuttings. The best rate of budding (51.52 ± 18.37%) was obtained in the mixture black soil-sawdust while for the rate of rooting (55.55 ± 16.66%), it was in sand. However, there was no significant difference between substrates for this parameter. Concerning the length of cuttings, the rate of budding ranged significantly from 33.19 ± 18.37% in RSC of 15 cm to 66.94 ± 15.38% for those of 20 cm long (0.01<0.05). For the rooting, the rate of rooting oscillated between 31.10 ± 13.98% in RSC of 10 cm and 54.44 ± 13.89% in those of 15 cm. The maximum number of leafy shoots (2.66 ± 0.69 cm) and of roots (5.35 ± 1.37 cm) was developed on RSC of 20 cm long and 15 cm respectively. The longest roots were registered in sawdust (6.63 ± 1.01 cm). This information is important in developing appropriate strategies toward domestication of the species.
