Effect of rooting hormones and media on vegetative propagation of Bougainvillea

Abstract The propagation success of bougainvillea through hardwood stem cutting varied with rooting hormones and rooting media. This experiment was carried out to study the effect of rooting hormone and rooting media on hardwood cuttings of Bougainvillea glabra cv. Double Red during April-July, 2021. The treatments were combination of rooting hormones [Indole-3-Butyric Acid (500 mg L-1), Indole-3-Butyric Acid (1,000 mg L-1), Naphthalene Acetic Acid (1,500 mg L-1), Naphthalene Acetic Acid (3,000 mg L-1), Rootex C] and different rooting media (soil and farmyard manure, sand and farmyard manure, sand and cocopeat) in 1:1 ratio. Cuttings without rooting hormones served as control. We observed earliest sprouting (10.33 days) of cuttings treated with IBA (500 mg L-1) and planted in sand and cocopeat. The highest sprouting percent (100%) and length of longest sprout (49 cm) were recorded when cuttings were treated with Rootex C and planted in sand and cocopeat. The highest shoot fresh weight (10.04 g), shoot dry weight (2.09 g), length of root (13.75 cm), number of roots (34.17), root fresh weight (2.33 g) and root dry weight (0.24 g) was observed in cuttings treated with IBA (1000 mg L-1) and planted in sand and cocopeat. The effect of rooting hormone and rooting media on the diameter of sprouts, rooting percentage, and transplanting success percentage was non-significant. Considering economically important parameters (sprouting percentage and length of longest sprout), this study revealed that sand and cocopeat with Rootex C was the best combination for the propagation of bougainvillea.