Effects of Auxin and Media Additives on the Clonal Propagation of Guava Cuttings (Psidium guajava L.) Var. Chinese Gola

Abstract

Clonal propagation is a process of asexually reproducing plants by multiplication of one copy to produce several copies that are genetically identical. One of the best methods of clonal propagation is using the cuttings. There are many plants that can be propagated through cuttings and one of them is guava. Guava is popular in Pakistan. To ensure that a guava tree will produce fruits that belong to its original cultivar, this study was conducted. Softwood cuttings of guava were treated with IBA (1600 ppm and 2000 ppm), NAA (7000 ppm and 10,000 ppm) and IBA+NAA (1600+7000 ppm and 2000+10,000 ppm). There were five media used (Soil, Peatmoss+Soil, Sand+Soil, Baggasse+Soil and Soil+Peatmoss+Sand+Bagasse. The experiment was laid out using Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with two-factor factorial arrangement. A total of 105 cuttings were used, each with 12 cm length and with 2-4 nodes. Media samples were collected and physio-chemically analyzed at the Soil and Water Testing Laboratory in Layyah, Pakistan to assess the properties and fertility status. Guava cuttings with 1600 ppm IBA showed the best results in terms of the number of roots, root length and days to sprout, followed by 7000 ppm NAA in Peat moss+soil and soil+peat mass+sand+bagasse. For the combination of growth regulators, the best results were observed in IBA 1600 ppm + NAA 7000 ppm. Poorest result in all parameters (days to sprout, number of roots, and root length) was recorded in control. The 1600 ppm IBA with 10 second dipping time for softwood cuttings of guava yielded best results in peatmoss+soil media for all the parameters tested. Hence, this study concluded that treatment with auxin (such as IBA) can yield best results and can help to solve the problem in propagating guava using cuttings.