Effect of IBA Treatments and Suitable Growing Media Combinations on Survival and Morphological Performance of Mulberry Cuttings

Propagation of mulberry through cuttings in soil‐based media faces challenges such as poor aeration, inconsistent moisture retention, and higher risks of pathogen infestation, which often result in low rooting success and uneven sprout establishment. Keeping in view the above limitations, the present study was carried out at the CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal, Haryana (India), to evaluate the effect of indole‐3‐butyric acid (IBA) concentrations and different growing media combinations on survival and morphological performance of mulberry ( Morus spp) cuttings. Cuttings treated with 2000 ppm IBA and planted in media combinations of (T 5 ) cocopeat, perlite, and vermicompost in a ratio of (2:1:1) showed significantly improve survival percentage and morphological performance compared to control. At 30 and 60 days after planting, these treatments achieved the maximum survival percentage and morphological performance. These results suggest that the integration of IBA and optimized growing media can significantly enhance propagation outcome in mulberry. The treatment comprising (T 5 ) cocopeat, perlite, and vermicompost (2:1:1) consistently outperformed in the terms of survival percentage (28.6%) and morphological performance like number of sprout per cutting (70.3% and 58.2% at 30 and 60 DAP, respectively), sprouted cuttings percentage (75.4%), plant height (44.7%), stem diameter (31.6%), number of leaves per plant (71.6%), length of longest sprouts (116.2%), reduced the days required for initiation of 1 st sprouting (45.4%), and 50% sprouting (47%) as compared to the cuttings planted in sandy soil. Moreover, applying 2000 ppm IBA further optimized survival rate and morphological performance. Together, the cocopeat, perlite, and vermicompost mix with 2000 ppm IBA emerges as an economical yet highly effective method for producing premium quality mulberry planting material supporting superior morphological performance through enhanced aeration, moisture retention, nutrient availability, and root proliferation. Similar media blends have also shown strong performance in accelerating photosynthesis and shoot biomass accumulation.