Hilling media influence on clonal propagation of apple rootstocks through layering

The present study was carried out at Experimental Farm of Division of Fruit Science, SKUAST-Kashmir during2016-2017 and 2017-2018. During the investigation programme, ten hilling materials were applied viz., Vermiculite (T1), Saw dust(T2), FYM(T3),Vermicompost(T4), Vermiculite+ Saw dust+ Pseudomonas (T5), Vermicultite + Saw dust +Azotobacter (T6), FYM + Vermicompost + Pseudomonas (T7), FYM + Vermicompost+ Azotobacter (T8), Pseudomonas+ Azotobacter+ Soil (T9), Control(T10) (only soil was used as a hilling material). The rootstocksused during the research programme consist of M-9 T337(S1), M-27(S2), MM-106(S3), P-22(S4), MM-111(S5). Theexperimental results showed that maximum shoot diameter (12.22mm), fresh leaf weight (33.33g), dry leaf weight(16.23g) and relative water content(87.16 per cent) were recorded under FYM + Vermicompost+ Azotobacter while as maximum annual production of rooted layers (8.62) was found under saw dust as a hilling media. Theminimum shoot diameter (7.12mm), fresh leaf weight (21.83g), dry leaf weight (7.50g), relative water content (70.47 per cent) and annual production of rooted layers (6.81) were recorded under control (only soil was used a hilling material). Among the various propagation techniques it was observed that propagation technique P₂ (trench layering) had a significant effect over P₁ (mound layering) with regard to shoot diameter, fresh leafweight, dry leaf weight, relative water content and annual production of rooted layers.