IMPROVED ROOTING AND SURVIVAL OF BOLONG ETA [DIOSPYROS PILOSANTHERA (BLANCO)] CUTTINGS THROUGH CLONAL PROPAGATION
The response of Bolong eta (Diospyrus pilosanthera Blanco) to varied cutting origins and levels of bioregulators, specifically to Indole-3-butyric Acid (IBA) and BioGroe™, were analyzed through the Completely Random Designed (CRD) using a 3 x 9 factorial experiment aided by an automated mist propagator. Two hundred sixteen (216) healthy seedlings containing 9 nodes each were used for the study. Cutting origins were found to significantly increase the percent survival, rooting rate, and mean number of roots of the species. In contrast, cutting origins does not significantly impact shoot length. The highest survival percentage (66.667%), rooting rate (65.274%), and the mean number of adventitious roots (1.929 roots) were observed in middle cuttings. Exogenous auxin application using Indole-3-butyric Acid (IBA) and BioGroe™ on cuttings significantly affected the mean number of adventitious roots and shoots but did not significantly affect the percent survival and rooting. The interaction between cutting origins and the application of IBA and BioGroe™ is not significant enough to affect all the parameters tested. Overall, these findings imply that D. pilosanthera can be optimally mass-propagated using cuttings derived from the middle and bottom origins. Furthermore, the use of bioregulators, especially BioGroe™ at 2000 ppm concentration, significantly improves rooting and may consequently increase propagule survival.
Bolong Eta; Cutting Origin; Plant Bio-Regulators; Shoot Length; Root Number; Percent Rooting; Percent Survival