EFFECT OF PROPAGATION MEDIA ON GROWTH PARAMETERS OF POMEGRANATE AIR LAYERS

The present investigation entitled, "Effect of different propagation media on growth parameters of pomegranate air layers" was conducted during the rainy season 2024-25. Four types of rooting media viz., sphagnum moss, cocopeat, leaf mould and coir pith were used alone and their combinations to perform air layering. The treatment includes T1 Sphagnum moss (100 %) (Control), T2 Cocopeat (100 %), T3 Sphagnum moss + Cocopeat (2:1), T4 Sphagnum moss + Cocopeat (1:1), T5 Sphagnum moss + Leaf Mould (1:1), T6 Cocopeat + Leaf Mould (1:1) and T7 Sphagnum moss + Coir Pith (1:1). The experimental findings revealed that the use of different propagation media had a significant effect on growth of pomegranate air layers. The treatment combination Sphagnum Moss + Cocopeat (2:1) proved to be the most effective among all treatments. It showed the improved shoot and leaf growth, such as final plant height (29.87 cm), number of shoots per layer (4.53), leaves per shoot (9.67), leaves per layer (43.85) and the highest benefit-cost ratio (2.47). Therefore, it is concluded that the rooting medium used to perform air layering in pomegranate i.e. Sphagnum moss + Cocopeat (2:1) not fully replace the sphagnum moss but up to some extent i.e. 33 % it will helps to reduce the production cost of layers simultaneously gives higher survival percentage with better plant establishment