Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Hort. Dept., Fac. Agric., El-Azhar Univ., Assuit. Branch, Egypt
2
Agric. Bot. Dept., Fac. Agric., Zagazig Univ., Egypt
3
Hort. Dept., Fac. Agric., Zagazig Univ., Egypt
Abstract
This study was conducted at Ornamental Nursery, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Egypt, during two consecutive seasons of 2015 and 2016. The objective of this study was to investigate two of the key factors likely to influence rooting ability i.e., indole butyric acid (IBA) concentration (0.0, 1000, 2000 or 4000 ppm) and rooting media type (sand, peat moss, sand: peat moss or sand: clay, at equal volume proportions) as well as their combinations on rooting and shooting ability and quality of Pachira aquatica cuttings. Rooting (%), root number/cutting, root length (cm), fresh and dry weights of roots/cutting (g), No. of shoots/cutting, fresh and dry weights of shoots/ cutting (g), No. of leaves/cutting, leaf area/cutting (cm2) as well as fresh and dry weights of leaves/cutting (g) as growth parameters were recorded. Also, total chlorophyll (SPAD unit), total carbohydrates (%), total nitrogen (%), total phosphorus (%) and potassium (%) in the leaves were determined. Moreover, anatomical study was conducted for selected treatment (peat moss and sand, 1:1 V/V, with different IBA concentrations). Results showed that in most cases the maximum values of the above mentioned characters were obtained by treating cuttings with IBA at 4000 ppm. Anatomical study of adventitious roots showed that the maximum root diameter with full differentiated vascular tissue was belonged to cuttings treated with IBA at 4000 ppm. The ultimate values of most of the above mentioned parameters were detected when cuttings were cultured in peat moss or its mixture with sand without significant difference between both treatments. Generally, among different combination treatments, treating cuttings with IBA at 4000 ppm before culturing them in peat moss and sand (1:1, V/V) proved to be the most promising treatment in this regard.
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