INDOLE BUTYRIC ACID APPLICATION INFLUENCE THE SEEDLING GROWTH OF THREE TYPES OF AWAR-AWAR (Ficus septica Burm.f.) CUTTINGS

Abstract

Awar-awar (Ficus septica), belonging to the Moraceae family, has the potential to be developed as an anticancer agent. Cultivating this plant requires technology to produce rapid quality seedlings since generative propagation still becomes a problem due to the extended period in seed production. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the use of indole butyric acid (IBA) in obtaining quality cutting types of awar-awar. Several IBA concentrations of 0 (control), 100, 200, and 400 ppm were applied on three types of cuttings, namely the apical, middle, and basal stem cutting, each measuring 20 cm. A completely randomized design (CRD) was employed, the data were analyzed using F-test (ANOVA), and significance between treatments were determined using Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) at a 5% level of significance. The growth of various cuttings was barely on the average of 57%​, with the optimum growth percentage from the shoots at 75%. Except for root length, the cutting origin types affected growth percentage, shoot number, leave number, shoot/sprout length, and root weight, while the IBA concentration had an impact on the shoot length and root formation (both length and weight). Additionally, the cutting origin and IBA interactions contributed substantially to the root weight. Furthermore, the highest number of shoots and leaves were obtained from the middle stem cutting, while the longest shoots and the highest root weight were obtained from the 200 ppm applications. Middle stem cutting of F. septica treated with IBA 200 ppm showed superior growth.