Standardisation of propagation techniques in bread fruit (Artocarpus altilis (Park.) Fosberg)

Abstract

Investigations were carried out at the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 1984-85 to standardise the most suitable method of vegetative propagation of bread fruit. The experiment was conducted in completely randomised design with root and stem cuttings and layering in order to find out the optimum thickness and. length of root and shoots end also the influence of growth regulators in enhancing the success with each of these methods. From the investigations it was found that root sittings were the mast; reliable end successful propagules compared to stem cuttings and layers. Thick roots were found to give comparitively more success In percentage of sprouting and the number of sprout per cutting Earlier sprouting and Easier growth of the sprouts were recorded from thin roots. The root development from the root cuttings was more from medium thick and thin cuttings. Longer root cuttings were more suited for propagation since they performed better in all characters except in secondary root development. Growth regulators had a negative effect on sprouting of root cuttings. Higher success in sprouting earlier sprouting and subsequent growth was obtained from untreated cuttings and also from those treated with NAA at lower concentration. However root development from the cuttings was found to be enhanced by growth regulator treatment compared to control. Among the growth regulators tried, NAA 300 ppm gave better results in the development of both primary and secondary roots.