Effect of different levels of Indole-3- Butyric Acid (IBA) and Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) on rooting of stem cuttings of Firethorn (Pyracanth crenulata M. Roem.)

Firethorn, locally known as Ghingharu, is a very important plant species Uttarakhand Himalaya as it is has numerous food and medicinal properties besides being major food source for wild animals in the region. Recently it has been observed that modernization and climate change drawing adverse effect on its habitat. The present investigation was conducted to standardise propagation technique of Ghingharu (Pyracantha crenulata) through semi hardwood cuttings under mist propagation chamber during the year 2019–2020. The experiment was allocated within three replications, and each replication contained 15 cuttings under a completely randomized design with nine different treatments of IBA and NAA 2000 ppm, 4000 ppm, 6000 ppm, 8000 ppm and control. IBA application of 6000 ppm was found to be the best all the days taken to sprouting, number of leaves per cutting, average leaf area (cm²), shoot and root length (cm), shoot diameter (mm), fresh and dry weight of shoots (g), number of primary and secondary roots, fresh and dry weight of roots (g), total fresh weight (g), percent rooted cuttings and survival percent of semi hardwood cutting of firethorn.