Rooting of hardwood cuttings of quince Cydonia oblonga L. as influenced by IBA and rooting substrate

Abstract

This research was conducted in the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, to investigate the effect of different indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations (0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg.L^-)  and rooting media (river-sand, river sand/peat moss, and perlite/peat moss) on rooting success of hardwood cuttings of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.). The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications inside a lath-house. The parameters of rooting%, root number, root length (cm), root dry weight (g), shoot length (cm), shoot diameter (mm), shoot dry weight (g), number of leaves per seedling, leaf area (cm²), and leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD unit) were measured. The effect of individual factors showed that rooting and other traits of rooted cuttings were independent of IBA effect. The highest rooting percentage (62.50%) was achieved in the control cuttings, as well as improved other traits. Also, the best rooting (64.58%) was found in the cuttings planted in river sand medium. Interaction effects of the two factors showed that control cuttings which planted in river-sand gave the highest rooting (70.83%), and the highest other root and shoot traits. River-sand and river sand/peat moss were outstanding for the quince cuttings, but IBA was not needed at the concentrations used in this study.