Vegetative propagation of Azadirachta indica: effect of auxin and rooting media on adventitious root induction in mini-cuttings

Azadirachta indica (Neem), a prodigious multipurpose tree, has immense potential to benefit mankind and to protect the environment. In order to investigate the effects of the auxins hormone and rooting media on root formation in mini-cuttings of A. indica, an experiment was conducted using mist system in poly house in summer 2012. The experiment was established on three different rooting media: sand, vermiculite and soil assembled with six concentrations (100; 250; 500; 750; 1,000 and 1,500 mg L-1) of the auxins IBA (indole-3-butyric acid), IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) and NAA (α-naphthalene acetic acid) with randomized block design, each block containing four replicates. The basal long soak methods were used for treating cuttings. The data revealed significant effect of different auxins and rooting media on the Neem establishment. The rooted mini-cuttings were assessed for rooting percent, number of roots, root length and number of leaves. In present finding among all the auxins and rooting media, , IBA (250 mg L-1) showed better results with sand in terms of rooting percent (80%), number of roots (70.63), root length (11.13) and number of leaves (5.25) per rooted mini-cuttings. The formation of healthy plants after hardening under outdoor conditions showed that A. indica could be successfully propagated by mini-cuttings techniques.