STUDIES ON VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION OF MULBERRY (MORUS SP.) by hardwood cutting

Abstract

                The technique of breeding, multiplying and perpetuating plants is as ancient as human civilization itself. The success of any vegetative propagated culture depends primarily on the rooting capacity and growth rate of the plant. A high rooting rate contributes to uniformity and improved crop establishment and significantly reduces initial expenses. Mulberry is reproduced in Egypt using tissue culture due to the difficulties of establishing roots on cuttings due to a problem with spreading growth regulators inside the cuttings; however, this process is highly expensive and takes a long time. We used varied doses of growth regulators to induce cuttings to root in this study, which is a low-cost technique that produces dense plants in a short amount of time. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse with a spray irrigation system, and cuttings were gathered and planted the same day after being hormone-treated. The data was collected three months after the plants were planted. The results revealed that planting cuttings on February 1^st resulted in the highest proportion of rooted seedling survival (79.46 %), compared to planting cuttings on March 1^st (71.36 %).. Furthermore, the combined effect of the previous factors had positive effects on the studied characters; the highest values of success rate of rooting (100 %) came from cuttings taken on Feb. 1^st and immersed in 1000 ppm of IBA solution with M. Alba To improve cutting survival % and seedling quality, the results suggest collecting cuttings on Feb. 1^st and applying 1000 ppm of IBA right before planting.