Synergistic effects of auxin and growing media on rooting performance and growth of bougainvillea cuttings

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of auxin and substrate composition on the rooting performance of bougainvillea Cuttings. The current study was organised in a completely randomised design (CRD) with two factors: growing media and auxin treatments. Five media combinations were tested: garden soil (control), silt + garden soil (1:1), FYM + garden soil (1:1), cocopeat + garden soil (1:1), and silt + cocopeat + FYM (1:1:1). Auxin treatments included auxin combined with various media: garden soil, garden soil + silt, garden soil + FYM, garden soil + cocopeat, and garden soil + cocopeat + silt + FYM. The results indicated a significant difference between the treatment means for rooting and growth parameters. It was observed that silt + cocopeat + FYM showed highest survival (92.31%), root number (18.9), root length (31.43 cm), and shoot parameters, while auxin combined with garden soil and cocopeat resulted in enhanced root and shoot development, with survival rate (90.72%), root length (33.11 cm), shoot length (10.71 cm), and leaf area (39.26 cm²). The results suggest that using silt, cocopeat, and FYM with auxin application in a garden soil + cocopeat mixture is most effective for optimising the rooting and growth of Bougainvillea cuttings.