Vegetative propagation of Litsea monopetala, a wild tropical medicinal plant: Effects of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on stem cuttings

In this study we investigated the rooting ability and the growth performance of juvenile single-node leafy stem cuttings of Litsea monopetala (Roxb) Pers. collected from two mature mother trees preserved in the hill forest of Chittagong district, Bangladesh. The rooting ability of cuttings was studied under 0%, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.4% indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) treatments. Significantly better rooting response (p ≤ 0.05) was observed with 0.1% IBA compared to control (0% IBA). The mean number of roots and the length of the longest root of cuttings in different treatments showed no significant difference (p≤0.05). After transfer into polythene bags from non-mist propagator, rooted cuttings treated with 0%, 0.1% and 0.2% IBA demonstrated the highest (100 ± 0.00%) survival capacity. The mean number of shoots developed in cuttings in the polythene bags in first three weeks varied significantly (p≤0.05) among the treatments. Effects of three fertilizer treatments, viz. T0 (no fertilizer), T1 (10g Urea, 20g TSP, 10g MOP dissolved in 1 L water) and T2 (10g Urea, 20g TSP, 10g MOP dissolved in 2 L water) on initial growth ofstecklings were also measured over a 90-days period. The increment of leaf area of stecklings was significantly higher (p≤0.05) under T0 compared with that under T1 and T2 while the increment of stem length, collar diameter and root biomass varied insignificantly among different fertilizer treatments. The results suggest that rooting juvenile single-node leafy stem cuttings could be an effective mean of regenerating L. monopetala. The application of 0.1% IBA concentration is recommended for rooting of juvenile leafy stem cuttings and application of fertilizer appeared unnecessary for the subsequent growth of stecklings in polythene bags.