Effect of Leaf Segments and Potting Media on Plant Performance of Sansevieria trifasciata Hort. ex Prain Grown under Ex vitro Conditions

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the vegetative propagation of Sansevieria trifasciata under ex vitro conditions. The experiment was conducted at the net house to select the best leaf segment among apical, middle and bottom portions of leaves and also to evaluate their performance in different potting media. Leaf segments were taken from apical, middle and bottom portions and planted in soil: compost at 1:0, soil: compost at 1:1 and soil: compost at 1:2 ratios. After 90 days, number of shoots per cutting (>1cm), number of shoot buds (<1cm), length of longest shoots, leaf area, fresh weight of shoots, dry weight of shoots, number of roots, length of longest root, fresh weight of roots and dry weight of roots were recorded. The result indicated that leaf segments and potting media showed the significant influence on number of days taken to emerge shoots, leaf area, number of roots per segment, longest shoot length, longest root length, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of roots, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of roots among the tested treatments. Apical segment of leaf was the best to produce higher number of shoots while bottom portion of leaf was more suitable to produce longest root. Among the potting media, shoot formation was quicker in soil: compost at 1:1 than that in other potting media.