Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Ph.D. Agronomy, Iran Silkworm Research Center, Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
2
Professor, Department of Animal Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
3
Ph.D. Student, Physics and Conservation Soil, Guilan University, and Iran silkworm Research Center, Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
10.30466/rip.2022.53727.1192
Abstract
Rooting of plant cuttings plays a crucial role in seedling production. In some cases, cuttings fail to root, resulting in wasted costs of planting, maintenance, land, and labour. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of callus formation, growth hormone, and planting time on rooting ability in cuttings of two mulberry (Morus alba) cultivars, Kenmochi and Ichinose. The experiment was carried out in 2021 at the Iran Silk Research Centre, Guilan Province, Iran, as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Two cutting preparation dates (March 1 and March 6) and three concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA; 0, 2000, and 4000 ppm) were tested. After 60 days, several parameters were recorded, including the number of leaves, leaf fresh weight, root fresh and dry weights, shoot fresh and dry weights, the longest root length, and the number of roots per cutting. The mean fresh root weight on the first and second planting dates was 6.8 g and 5.6 g, respectively. At 4000 ppm IBA, the Kenmochi cultivar exhibited leaf fresh weights of 68.73 g and 60.03 g on the first and second planting dates, respectively. The results showed that increasing IBA concentration significantly enhanced fresh root weight, shoot biomass, leaf biomass, and overall rooting performance in both Kenmochi and Ichinose cultivars. A strong association was observed between callus formation and rooting, with the Kenmochi cultivar exhibiting a rooting-to-callus formation ratio of 94%.
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