Horticultural Experiments and Training Centre, Chaubattia, Almora
* Present Address: Associate Professor of Horticulture, N.D. Univ. of Agri. & Tech., Faizabad.
The rooting response of five clonal apple rootstocks through hardwood cuttings collected from forced and unforced shoots was studied. After IBA treatment half of the cuttings were placed in hot bin (21 ± 2°C) and the rest in open trenches. In general, the forced cuttings rooted better than the unforced ones. There was absolutely no rooting in the cuttings kept in open even after IBA treatment. The biochemical studies revealed that forced cuttings contained a relatively greater amount of carbohydrates and nitrogen fractions at zero time. Marked depletions in the various fractions of carbohydrates and nitrogen contents were recorded at the time of root initiation and this was well pronounced in the cutting stored in hot bin after IBA treatment. Contrary to this, least variations were obtained in endogenous levels of carbohydrates and nitrogen constituents in the cuttings stored in open. This indicated that warm storage increased the morpho-physiological activities which were further enhanced by IBA treatment at the cutting bases and thus these two factors were responsible for the root initiation.
