Effect of Bio-regulator Treatment, Wounding and Growing Media on Survival, Shoot and Root Growth of Stem Cutting in Lemon (Citrus Limon Burm.)

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “Effect of bio-regulator treatment, wounding and growing media on survival, shoot and root growth of stem cutting in lemon (Citrus limon Burm)”, was conducted during 2016-17 at Horticultural Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, 250110 (UP). The experiment was laid out using Factorial RBD with nine chemical and mechanical treatments (i.e., control (without wounding and without bio-regulator treatments), stem cuttings with wounding, 2000 ppm IBA, 4000 ppm IBA, 6000 ppm IBA, stem cuttings with wounding + 2000 ppm IBA, stem cuttings with wounding + 4000 ppm IBA, stem cuttings with wounding + 6000 ppm IBA) and two rooting media (i.e., soil + sawdust + vermicompost and soil + sawdust + FYM). The results of the propagation study revealed that stem cuttings of lemon when treated with wounding + 4000 ppm IBA and grown in soil + sawdust + vermicompost had recorded significantly earliest sprouting (6.92 days) and highest sprouting percent (79.38%), survival percent (76.38%), plant height (19.80 cm), number of shoots/cutting (7.34), number of leaves/cutting (12.88), stem girth (2.15 cm), number of roots/cutting (20.61), root length (10.84 cm), length of longest root (15.95 cm), root thickness (1.34 mm) and root dry weight (2.20 gm). The results also revealed that ‘wounding’ (without IBA treatment) was found to be least significant among chemical and mechanical treatments in respect of above parameters of stem cutting.