Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Development of Syngonium Species in Vertical Gardening

Abstract

Vertical gardening is a space-efficient approach to ornamental plant production and landscape development where growing space is limited. The present investigation evaluated the effect of plant growth regulators on the growth and development of selected Syngonium species under a vertical gardening system. The experiment was conducted at the Floricultural Research Station, ARI, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University, during 2023–2024 and 2024–2025. The study was laid out in a factorial randomised block design with two factors. The first factor comprised four plant growth regulator treatments: Cycocel at 500 ppm, Cycocel at 1000 ppm, Benzyl Adenine at 100 ppm and Benzyl Adenine at 200 ppm. The second factor comprised three Syngonium types: Syngonium reticulata, Syngonium podophyllum ‘Neon’ and Syngonium podophyllum ‘Bronze’. Observations were recorded 125 days after planting for number of leaves per plant, plant height, plant spread in the east-west and north-south directions, and growth rate. The pooled results showed that Benzyl Adenine at 200 ppm recorded the highest number of leaves per plant (23.00), plant height (21.00 cm), east-west plant spread (23.00 cm), north-south plant spread (22.33 cm) and vigorous growth rate. Cycocel at 1000 ppm restricted growth and recorded lower values for number of leaves per plant (12.15), plant height (14.30 cm) and east-west plant spread (14.78 cm). Among the evaluated species, Syngonium reticulata showed better growth performance. The findings indicate that Benzyl Adenine may support enhanced vegetative growth, whereas Cycocel may be useful where compact growth is preferred.