An Improved Method for Propagation of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) by Cuttings

One year old growth stem cutting (2.9 +/- A 0.8 mm thickness), which is less than half of the conventional pencil thickness (7-8 mm) hardwood cutting, was studied for vegetative propagation of seabuckthorn (SBT). Rooting trial tested the effects of 14 media and 6 concentration of indole-3-butyric acid treatment. Over 94 % rooting was observed in all the media tested. The mean rooting percentage was 97.6 +/- A 2.2. Exogenous auxin treatments lack any benefit and rooting was over 97 % without hormonal treatment. Sevenfold more number of cuttings was obtained per plant as compared to pencil thickness hardwood cuttings, which is the conventional method of SBT propagation. The result of the present study could facilitate establishment of a vegetative propagation method wherein larger number of cuttings per plant can be propagated with higher rooting success rate without the need of exogenous application of rooting hormone.