Abstract:
Epipremnum aureum, ‘Marble Queen’ is a common foliage plant that is used extensively in interior
scaping, making it an economically important species. Stem cuttings are the most common and
simplest propagation method for producing new Marble Queen plants, and both rooted and unrooted
cuttings are exported. The present production process for exporting rooted cuttings of Marble Queen
takes around 3 months. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different
rooting media, and the application of Indole – 3 – Butyric Acid (IBA) on various shoot and root
morphological characteristics in Marble Queen stem cuttings. The experiment was completely
randomized in a factorial 2×4 design (2 rooting media × 4 doses of IBA) comprising ten replicates
and was conducted as two parallel experiments under the production of rooted and unrooted
cuttings. In experiment one, the rooting performance at the production of rooted cuttings was
evaluated while in experiment two the rooting performance at unrooted cuttings production was
evaluated after an export simulation (48 hours cold storage at 21 ºC). In this study single nodal
cuttings of Marble Queen were treated with 0 mg·L-1, 250 mg·L-1, 500 mg·L-1, and 1000 mg·L-1
concentrations of IBA, and rooting trials were carried out in coir dust and oasis media. The variance
analysis was performed on the data. Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) and Chi–square tests were
used to evaluate the difference in mean values of parametric and non - parametric data, respectively.
The results showed that the rooting medium has a significant effect on root growth. Coir dust
recorded the highest number of roots per cutting, roots-to-shoot fresh weight ratio, and average root
diameter in both experiments. Meanwhile, the oasis medium recorded minimum days to bud and
root initiation, as well as a higher number of buds in both experiments. The 500 mg·L-1 concentration
of IBA recorded early rooting and a higher number of roots. Thus, oasis medium with 500 mg·L-1 IBA
application can support early root and shoot growth of Marble Queen stem cuttings. However, coir
dust with the same concentration may be more suitable for efficient growth and development.
