Impact of IBA and NAA on Taxus baccata under different growing conditions

Taxus baccata belongs to a sub-mountain forest tree species and shows difficulty in its natural regeneration; due to the production of several economically important metabolites, it is categorised as a highly endangered and valuable medicinal plant, which is used for curing cancer. Seeds possess nearly 1.5 to 2-year-long dormancy phases and do not germinate easily and establish naturally. The study is conducted to find out the best condition and concentration for the multiplication of Taxus. Stem cuttings with different diameters (0-4 mm and 4.1 to 8 mm) were pretreated with various combinations of IBA (indole butyric acid 100 ppm, 300 ppm, and 500 ppm) and NAA (naphthyl acetic acid 100 ppm, 300 ppm, and 500 ppm) for 24 hours and had two different growing conditions: net house and open nursery field. The results reported that stem cuttings ranging between 0 and 4 mm in diameter with pretreatment of IBA 500 ppm concentration is the most ideal condition for plant growth, regeneration, multiplication, and development, which was followed by 100 ppm NAA. The results were concluded as maximum growth was recorded by IBA 500 ppm, the average number of survived cuttings was 14.563% per plot, and the total primary roots were 14.35. The longest root length was 9.688 cm, the thickest root diameter was 2.188 mm, the average root length was 6.132 cm, the average root diameter was 2.188 mm, the average fresh weight (g) was 21.273, the average dry weight (g) was 2.260, the average stem diameter was 4.208 mm, and the maximum survival percentage was 58.25%, which were achieved by IBA. The findings stated that the ideal condition for root development is 0-4 mm plant diameter pretreated with 500 ppm IBA in open nursery conditions.