Rooting of Athel (Tamarix aphylla) stem cuttings in water and Helsin media in a shade house without the use of plant growth regulators

Abstract

The Athel (Tamarix aphylla) tree is a blessed tree mentioned in the Holy Quran as one of the paradise trees that were given to the Yemeni people and the Sheba kingdom in substitution of much more superior paradise trees. These trees are propagated vegetatively and utilised as windbreaks in desert horticulture farms to protect trees from the hot desert environment. So, the objective of this research was to find the optimum type of stem cuttings for vegetative propagation of Athel trees in two types of media under a shade house (E1 in water medium and E2 in Helsin (gravel) medium) as two separate trials. Both trials included hardwood, semi-hardwood, and softwood cuttings. Numerous root and vegetative parameters were evaluated 60 days after the planting. E1 and E2 trails were conducted independently using a completely randomized design (CRD). In both E1 and E2, hardwood stem cuttings had significantly higher rooting percentages (100% and 81%) over semi-hardwood (81.77% and 70%) and softwood (30% and 60%), respectively. The number of rooted eyes, the number of growing eyes per cutting, and the number of shoots per eye, as well as the length of the roots, varied significantly among E1 cuttings. In addition, the number of mature eyes per cutting, the number of shoots per eye, and the length of the shoots significantly differed among the three types of cutting for E2. This research demonstrated the high superiority of vegetative propagation of Athel cuttings in water medium without the use of plant growth regulators to induce adventitious roots or stimulate vegetative growth.

Key words: Athel, stem cutting, rooting, water medium, Helsin medium.