EFFECTS OF ROOTING MEDIA AND CULTIVAR ON THE GROWTH OF CHAYA (Cnidoscolus aconitfolius M. Vaugh) STEM CUTTING Inna M. Rumainum*, Megawati, Veronica L. Tuhumena, Syukur Karamang
University of Papua
Abstract
This research was conducted to determine the growth response of Chaya stem cuttings to rooting media and cultivars. The research was designed using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The first factor is planting media (A) that is Soil (M1), soil + husk charcoal (M2), coconut fiber powder + husk charcoal (M3), in a ratio of 2:1. The second factor is the Chaya plant cultivar (B), namely Picuda (B1), and Redonda (B2). The results showed a hundred percent of cutting live in all treatments. The combination of media and cultivar treatments did not have a different effect on shoot emergence time and number of shoots. At 5 weeks after planting (WAP), cuttings that planted in husk charcoal media (M2B1, M2B2) had a tendency to be higher than other treatments. M2B2 and M3B2 treatments tend to have greater number of leaves (i.e. 8,11 and 8,37, respectively) compared to other treatments. The M3B2 treatment showed better root number (18.00), root length (8.53) and root volume (0.43) than the other treatments, although not significantly different. This research shows that combination of husk charcoal and coconut fiber powder provide good leaf and root growth for Chaya stem cuttings. Also, the Picuda cultivar showed better growth response than the Redonda cultivar.
