Influence of growing medias and IBA concentrations on root development and growth of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose)

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose) is an exotic and nutritious fruit that is gaining popularity; however, limited research on its cultivation restricts its potential for optimal growth and high yield. This study was conducted at Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan focuses on evaluating the impact of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations on rooting performance as well as to compare various growing media suitable for root development of dragon fruit. The experiment was carried out using seven combinations of treatments including, viz. T1: Soil (Control), T2: {IBA 500 ppm + (Soil + Sand) (1:1)}, T3: {IBA 1000 ppm + (Soil + Sand) (1:1)}, T4: {IBA 500 ppm + (Soil + farmyard manure (FYM)) (1:1)}, T5: {IBA 1000 ppm + (Soil + FYM) (1:1)}, T6: {IBA 500 ppm + (Soil + Sand + FYM) (1:1:1)} and T7: {IBA 1000 ppm + (Soil + Sand + FYM) (1:1:1)} using completely randomized design (CRD). Among the various treatments evaluated, T7 proved to be the most effective, showing significant improvements in growth parameters, including survival rate, plant height, shoot dry weight, number of shoots per cutting, shoot fresh weight, root dry weight, number of primary and secondary roots per cutting, root fresh weight, length of the longest root, average diameter of primary and secondary roots, diameter of the longest root and total root length. Therefore, selecting an appropriate rooting media seems essential for achieving superior root and shoot development in dragon fruit.