Macropropagation of Ban Oak - <I>Quercus leucotrichophora</I> Camus, Through Stem Cuttings

Abstract

Ban Oak (Quercus leucotrichohora Camus), a principal forest tree species of North-West Himalayan forest eco-system, was used to investigate the effect of chemical treatment, season, donor plant and shoot position on rooting and primary root number, and subsequent survival of the rooted cuttings. The per cent rooting and primary root number improved markedly upon application of chemical treatment. maximum per cent rooting (35.25) was recorded in the rainy season planted seedling cuttings treated with chemical formulation of 0.8% IBA + 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captan. Irrespective of chemical treatment, season and position, seedling cuttings demonstrated significantly better per cent rooting and primary root number than tree cuttings. Primary root number were more in lower portion of the shoot cuttings, while per cent rooting was higher in cuttings collected from the upper portion of the shoot. The seedling cuttings collected from upper portion of the shoot during rainy season displayed better survival than others. From the present study, it can be concluded that for achieving maximum rooting and survival of the rooted propagules, the cuttings should be collected during rainy season from the upper portion of the seedling shoot and treated with chemical formulation of 0.8% IBA + 0.2% p-HBA + 5% Sucrose + 5% Captan.