Evaluation of Hardwood and Semi-hardwood Cuttings for Rooting Performance in Exotic Kiwifruit Cultivars

The investigation was conducted in the kiwifruit block of Department of Fruit Science, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.) during the year 2019-20. The experiment entitled "Evaluation of hardwood and semi-hardwood cuttings for rooting performance in exotic cultivars of Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.)". The experiment consisted of eight exotic cultivars as treatments, and the research trial was laid out according to Randomized Block Design (RBD). The entire programme of study was conducted undertaken to elucidate the comparative rooting performance of hardwood and semi-hardwood cuttings in exotic cultivars of kiwifruit i.e. Anna, Chung Bai, Cordifolia, Issai Kiwi, Kens Red, Meader Male, MSU Klur, and 74-49 Among different cultivars, Kens Red exhibited the best performance in terms of root characteristics. The cultivar Anna performed the least on the basis of the aforesaid parameters.

Among different cutting types, semi-hardwood cuttings of different cultivars performed better as compared to hardwood cuttings with respect to parameters like number of primary roots, number of secondary roots, total root length (cm) and fresh and dry weight of roots per cutting. The information generated on the propagation of these new exotic kiwiberry cultivars will serve as a basis for the researchers in developing new rootstocks for quality production of plants.