Abstract
Sanchezia spp is an important ornamental plant in Sri Lanka. The species is also grown as a medicinal plant in other countries. This investigation was aimed at evaluating the growth and development of Sanchezia spp stem cuttings with the treatment of Coconut water, moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam) leaf extract and Bee honey as natural growth stimulants. Cuttings were planted without dipping in any solution (control: T1), water (T2), coconut water (T3), Bee honey (T4) and moringa leaf extract (T5). The outcome of the study revealed that stem cuttings dipped in Bee honey had higher leaf greenness (SPAD reading), plant height and number of roots. The maximum root length and higher root dry weight were observed when the stem cuttings were dipped in moringa leaf extract. Most of the growth parameters including number of leaves, total plant fresh weight, and root and shoot dry weights were superior when stem cuttings were dipped in coconut water compared to the rest of the treatments. Therefore, coconut water was considered the most suitable natural growth stimulants for treating the stem cuttings of Sanchezia spp.
Highlights
Successful propagation of plants is a vital in plant establishment
Plant height was high in T5 (32 cm/plant) followed by T4 (31 cm/plant) at 10 days after planting, while tallest plants were noted in T4 (62 cm/plant) and shortest in T1 (50.3 cm/plant) at 1 month after planting
The rate of growth in plant height would be determined by various specialized factors such as hormones, except fertilization
Summary
Successful propagation of plants is a vital in plant establishment. Propagation by cuttings produces quick and large number of plants similar to the mother plant conserving the plant genetic sources. High rate of rooting is an important characteristic to establish successful propagation method through stem cuttings. Several factors such as propagation material, genotype, type of cutting and the rooting environment influence rooting ability in cuttings (Hartmann et al, 2011). Application of exogenous hormones is commonly practiced in stem cuttings. It accelerates the cell division, promotes synthesis of endogenous hormones and salicylic acid, stimulate carbohydrate accumulation and rooting (Zhang et al, 2017)
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