Effect of Different Growing Media on Propagation of Croton variegatum Semi Hardwood Cuttings at Jhapa, Nepal

Abstract

Codiaeum variegatum, commonly known as garden croton or variegated croton, is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family and is popular for its colorful ornamental foliage. An experiment was carried out at Gauradaha Agriculture Campus, Gauradaha, Jhapa, in 2024 to study the effect of different growing media on propagation of croton under partially shaded condition.  Propagation through semi-hardwood cuttings is a common method, but success rates are often low due to inappropriate or suboptimal growing media. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different media on root and shoot growth of croton. The experiment was laid out in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatments and three replications. The treatments were soil (control), sand, sand and peatmoss (3:1), soil and perlite (1:1), mixture of sand, soil and perlite (1:1:1) and sand, soil and peatmoss (1:1:1). Different observations, root number and length, shoot number and shoot length, success percentage were recorded. Statistically superior result in root length (4.62 ± 0.15a), shoot number (4.80 ± 0.05a), shoot length (4.80 ± 0.05a) was observed in combination of soil + sand + peatmoss. However, root numbers were observed maximum in the treatment sand + peatmoss (10.40 ± 0.22a) at 35DAP, while soil and FYM showed lowest growth in terms of all factor through the period recorded. The combination of sand + soil + peatmoss (1:1:1) and soil + peatmoss (3:1) showed the highest success rate, which was 100%. Therefore, this research showed that combination of sand + soil + peatmoss was found to be best for the overall performance of croton plant propagated through semi hardwood cuttings in comparison to other media used in this research and is recommended in the tropic climatic condition of Jhapa.