Responses of Populus deltoides’ stem cuttings under treatment of different growth hormones in planting seasons

Abstract

The farmers have widely used vegetative propagation of plants due to the low germination percentage of seeds of various plant species. So to study the asexual propagation technique of Populus deltoides, the present study was conducted where a number of stem cuttings of Poplar were treated with growth hormones: IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid), NAA (1-Naphthaleneacetic acid) and GA3 (Gibberellic acid) at different concentrations (100 ppm, 200 ppm and 300 ppm). Some cuttings, which were not treated with hormones, considered as control. A completely randomized design was used to conduct the experiment. The responses were recorded for the cuttings, which were collected and planted in on-season (February) and off-season (July) for 30, 60 and 90 Day after planting (DAP). The results showed that the cuttings collected and planted in February month responded with the better growth rate in shoot and root parameters. The untreated cuttings showed relatively lower values for all growth parameters than the cuttings treated with hormones. Tukey HSD test of multiple comparisons revealed that IBA, at higher concentration, had significantly (P<0.05) higher values for most of the growth parameters, followed by GA3. Pearson product-moment correlation showed a very strong correlation (P>0.70) recorded for underground biomass and other parameters. These findings can allow the farmers to select the best treatment to enhance the growth and yield of P. deltoides.