Effect of Growth Regulators on Rooting of Cuttings in Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Cv. 'Bhagwa'

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at Regional Horticultural Research and Extension Center (RHREC), UHS, GKVK, Bengaluru, in the summer of 2014. Ten treatments of growth regulator formulations were imposed, including the Control, under Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Semi-hardwood cuttings of pomegranate were prepared from healthy twigs 20 to 30cm long, bearing 4 to 5 nodes and a thickness of 0.75 to 1.0cm. The cuttings were treated with a combination of different concentrations (500, 1000 or 1500 ppm) of indole butyric acid (IBA), and 500, 1000 or 1500 ppm of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) for 8 hours. Results showed that highest sprouting percentage (68.00%), highest rooting percentage (60.40%), maximum number of sprouts (2.09), greatest diameter of sprout (0.59cm), longest roots (18.9cm) and widest diameter of root (1.62mm) were recorded in cuttings treated with IBA 1500ppm + NAA 1500ppm, whereas, longest sprout (34.50cm), highest number of primary roots (10.30) and secondary roots (62.70), highest fresh weight of sprout (9.03g), highest dry weight of shoot (4.66g), highest fresh weight of root (2.70g) and the highest dry weight of root (1.63g) per cutting was recorded with IBA 1500ppm + NAA 1000ppm.