Macropropagation of an Endangered Medicinal Plant,Enantia chloranthaOliv.

Abstract The effects of auxins and leaf size on the rooting of juvenile, single-node leafy stem cuttings ofEnantia chloranthaOliv. were investigated. Percentage survival of the cuttings differed among the auxins, their levels, and cutting leaf sizes. Half-leaf cuttings had the highest mean percentage survival of 70% under both naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and the control followed by indole-3-butric acid (IBA) (60%) and the combination of IBA/NAA with 40% survival. Among full-leaf cuttings, the control treatment and the combination of IBA/NAA had a mean percentage survival of 100%, followed by IBA with 80% and NAA with 40%. Callusing of cutting was also affected by the different auxin treatments. Among the auxins and under full-leaf cuttings, the combination of IBA/NAA had the highest mean percentage of callused cuttings of 100%, followed by the control with 90%, while NAA had 40%. Callusing among the half-leaf cuttings was highest under the control and NAA (70%), while the lowest mean value of 30% was obtained under NAA. Rooting among the cuttings was affected by the IBA treatment only. Full-leaf cuttings treated with IBA at 50 ppm and the control treatment gave the highest percentage of rooted cuttings of 10% each. Auxin type, auxin concentration, leaf size, interaction between auxin type and concentration, interaction between auxin type and leaf size, and interaction between auxin concentration and leaf size had no significant effect on the percentage rooting of cuttings. Better survival and rooting rates under the control treatment, compared to those treated with rooting hormones at higher concentrations, imply thatE. chloranthacan be propagated vegetatively at reduced cost, thus ensuring that this technology can be adopted with minimum capital to yield expected results.