Rooting behaviour and survival of bamboo species propagated through branch cuttings

Bamboo with a dense and strong rooting system reduces runoff and soil loss and improve the runoff infiltration. Seeding is erratic and after long duration, hence bamboo multiplication is preferred through vegetative propagation. Primary and secondary branch cuttings of eight different bamboo species viz., Bambusa balcooa, B. bambos, B. nutans, B. tulda, B. vulgaris, Dendrocalamus asper, D. giganteus and D. hamiltonii were studied for their rooting potential. Primary branch cuttings were given 200 ppm IBAtreatment for 8 hours. Secondary branch cuttings were treated with 4000 ppm IBA for one minute. The study revealed following order of rooting: B. vulgaris > B. balcoa > D. hamiltonii > D. giganteus > B. bambos > B. tulda > B. nutans > D. asper. Application of 200 ppm IBA was found to enhance the rooting and sprouting parameters. In secondary branch cuttings, all the species except B. vulgaris failed to produce root. Relationship between survival and number of roots and ratio of number of roots to number of shoots explained 77.9 and 93.0% coefficient of variability respectively indicating importance of number of roots in the outplanting performance.