Vegetative Propagation of Zamioculcas zamiifolia (G. Lodd.) Engl. Managed by IBA Application, Substrate Quality, and Leaflet Cutting

Document Type : Research paper

Authors

Department of Horticultural Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Arak University, Arak 38156-8-8349, Iran

Abstract

Zamiifolia or ZZ is a luxury indoor ornamental plant that has received considerable attention in the past two decades. Due to its high economic value, its propagation is highly valuable. This research had two experiments to investigate rooting and rhizome production by leaf cuttings. The first experiment was a factorial with two factors, i.e., IBA concentrations (0, 250, and 500 mg L-1) and three positions of leaflet cuttings on the main axis of the leaf (apical, middle, and basal). The results showed that the number of rhizomes and roots increased in response to 250 and 500 mg L-1 IBA, respectively, compared to the other treatments. In the second experiment, the effects of three propagation media were investigated, i.e., perlite: sand: cocopeat (50: 25: 50), cocopeat: perlite (50: 50), and cocopeat: perlite (70: 30), as well as three positions of leaflet cuttings on the main axis of the leaf (apical, middle and basal). The results indicated that the cocopeat: perlite medium (50: 50) significantly increased the rhizome length, rhizome width, root formation, root length, and shoot count. In conclusion, the optimal recommendation for rhizome formation/rooting substrate was cocopeat plus perlite. IBA application can highly benefit the vegetative propagation of this valuable ornamental plant.

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