STIMULATION OF ROOTING IN BOUGAINVILLEA

SPECTABILIS AND B. GLABRA USING COCONUT WATER

BY

OGUNWA, OLOLADE BABATUNDE

MATRIC NO: 2006/1610

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

HORTICULTURE
COLLEGE OF PLANT SCIENCE AND CROP PRODUCTION
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF AGRICULTURE (B. AGRIC)
IN HORTICULTURE

JUNE, 2011.

CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this project was carried out by OGUNWA, O.B. in partial fulfillment of the
award of Bachelors degree of the Department of Horticulture, College of Plant Science and
Crop Production, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

.
MR. O.M. OLOSUNDE

..
DATE

Supervisor

...
Prof. J.G. BODUNDE
B. SC. (IBADAN), M. SC., PhD (ABU)
Head of Department

DATE

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project was written by me and it is a record of my own research work.
It has not been presented in any project work for a degree of this or any University. All citations
and sources of information are clearly acknowledged by means of references.

...

OGUNWA OLOLADE B.

DATE

DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to God, my late parents and those dream helpers that have helped in
making this dream a reality.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My acknowledgement goes to God Almighty, the help of the helpless.
I am grateful to my supervisor, Mr. O.M. Olosunde, who is also a mentor, for the understanding,
advice and contribution to this work. I pray that God reward you appropriately.
The fatherly love of the Head of the Department, Prof. J.G. Bodunde is also acknowledged. I am
also indebted to; Prof. F.O. Olasantan, Prof. O.O. Aiyelaagbe, Dr. M.A.O. Okelana, Dr. E.A.
Makinde, Dr. L.A. Hammed, Dr. O.O. Olubode, Dr. A.W. Salau and Mrs. T.T. Joseph-Adekunle.
Other members of staff like; Mrs. O.O. Adeyoola, Mrs. A.A. Ashade, Mrs. Ekundayo and Mrs.
Odukoya were sources of knowledge and blessings to me while in school.
My appreciation goes to; Prof. P.A. Okuneye, Prof. F.O. Bamiro, Dr (Mrs) H.A. Bodunde, Mrs.
A.A. Laniyan and Bro. Yinka Popoola for helping me directly or indirectly.
To my God-given parents Mr. B.A. Ogunnwa and wives for given me hope through God, may
you not loose your reward. My thanks also go to my siblings; Mrs. B. Adetunji, Mrs. B.O.
Esuruosho, Mrs. K.O. Akano, Bro. Yomi, Mr. Sola Ogunwa, Bro. Lanre, Sis. Yetunde, Bro.
Gunwa, Mrs. T.O. Badmus, Bro. Dayo, Tobi, Jide, Olamide for making this world a happy
dwelling.
I say a big thank you to; Olusanya Bala, Beckley Oloye, Adeolu Ugly, Iyanda Iso, Ogunsola
Bamu, and Omole Omowe. I am grateful to; ASF, UNAAB and UK hostel-wonderful places
where lives are pruned. To my project mates; Yemi, Davis, Seun, Seye and other class mates, I
am proud of you all.
The list is endless, but to others, I say, there never was, never will be, never could be, a greater
love than mine to you. Thank you.

ABSTRACT
Experiment on stimulation of rooting of two Bougainvillea species using coconut water was
conducted at the Horticultural nursery of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, between the
months of March and June, 2011. The experiment was made of two factors; Bougainvillea
species (Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra) and dipping durations; short duration dipping
(5 minutes and 10 minutes), medium duration dipping (1 hour, 2hours and 3 hours), long
duration dipping (6 hours and 12 hours) and no dipping as control. Treatments were laid out in
Completely Ramdomized Design (CRD) with three replicates. Data collected on number of days
to sprouting, plant height, percentage of rooted cuttings, the number of leaves per cutting and
length of longest roots were subjected to Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the level
of significance and Duncan Multiple Range Test to separate the means. Results shows that
dipping duration had significant (P<0.05) effects on the rooting ability of Bougainvillea
spectabilis with cuttings dipped for 1 hour having the best performance, while B. glabra cuttings
had no roots. Therefore root initiation in cuttings of B. spectabilis could be enhanced when
dipped in coconut water for 1 hour.

TABLE OF CONTENT
CONTENT

PAGES

Title page
Certification.i
Declaration..ii
Dedication..iii
Acknowledgement.iv
Abstract...v
Table of Contentsvi-vii
List of Tables...viii
List of Plates..ix
CHAPTER ONE
1.0

Introduction1

1.1

Justification2

1.2

Objectives of Study....2

CHAPTER TWO
2.0

Literature review3

2.1

Taxonomy and botany of Bougainvillea...3

2.2

Factors affecting the rooting of cuttings...4

2.2.1 Nutritional factors.4

2.2.2 Age of stock plant.5
2.2.3 Light..5
2.2.4 Hormonal factors...5
2.2.5 Rooting media ...6
2.2.6 Types of cuttings..7

2.3

Phytohormones.7

2.4

Coconut water and its chemical composition ..8

CHAPTER THREE
3.0

Materials and methods.9

3.1

Experimental site.9

3.2

Experimental Materials...9

3.3

Treatment combinations and experimental design9

3.4

Data collection....10

3.5

Data analysis...10

CHAPTER FOUR
4.0

Results and Discussion12

CHAPTER FIVE
5.0

Conclusion and Recommendation..20

5.1

Conclusion..20

5.2

Recommendation20

5.3

References...21

5.4

Appendix.22

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE

TITLE

1. Effect of dipping duration and plant species on rooting characteristics of

PAGE
14

Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra.

2. Interaction effect of dipping duration on rooting characteristics of

15

Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra.

3. Effect of dipping duration and species on leaves of Bougainvillea

16

spectabilis and B. glabra.

4. Interaction effect of dipping duration on number of leaves of Bougainvillea

17

spectabilis and B. glabra.

5. Effect of dipping duration and plant species on height of Bougainvillea

18

spectabilis and B. glabra.

6. Interaction effects of dipping duration on height of Bougainvillea
spectabilis and B. glabra.

19

LIST OF PLATES

PAGE

1. Roots of some Bougainvillea plants

11

2. The Bougainvillea plant at the experimental site

11

CHAPTER ONE
1.0

INTRODUCTION

The bougainvillea plants (Bougainvillea spp) are appraised as decorative plants because of their
lovely blossoms that bloom several times throughout the year. It is believed to have originated
from South America, but widely cultivated in the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world.
Bougainvillea, because of its special characteristics, like; high variation in type of foliage,
production of many flowering inflorescence on one plant and continuous blooming of flowers
with short production cycle had been very useful in the ornamental industry (Gordon, 2002).
They belong to the class of economic woody ornamental plants. They are widely cultivated as
porch, adornments, arbour and ornaments. Their growth habits and beautiful showing bracts
make them popular forlandscapes. They are also used in mass planting, as shrubs or bushes,
ground covers, as hedge plants, barrier plants and slope coverings, in hanging baskets, and in
containers for Bonsai.
Bougainvilleas are primarily propagated by stem cuttings, but lack of competence to form
adventitious roots by cuttings occurs routinely and is an obstacle for the vegetative propagation
(Cline et al., 2006). Adventitious root formation is a key step in vegetative propagation of
woody or horticultural species, and problems associated with rooting of cuttings frequently result
in significant economic losses (De Klerk et al., 1999).
The use of coconut water as a growth-promoting component can be traced to more than half a
century, when Overbeek et al. introduced it as a new component of the nutrient medium for
callus cultures in 1941.

Asma et al, 2008, performed an experiment on In vitro propagation of kiwifruit (actinidia

deliciosa) using coconut water. During the study, it was observed that the root induction was
highly effected by the length of shoots and an appropriate length was pre-requisite for the
efficient root formation. The use of coconut water also indirectly effected In vitro roots induction
since during shoot multiplication; the addition of

coconut water to the culture media resulted

in maximum shoot length (7.2 0.16) and hence facilitating the efficient root formation. This
enhanced root formation ultimately resulted in the high survival rate (>95%) of the grown plants.
1.1

JUSTIFICATION

Application of synthetic growth regulators to enhance rooting have been widely adopted
(Strivastava, 2002). However, constraints like; technicalities involved in proper application,
availability and the impact it has on the environment (Kende and Zeevaart, 1997), necessitate the
need to find alternative means of stimulating stem cuttings to increase rooting percentage for
better production.
1.2

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

To determine the effects of dipping duration in coconut water on rooting and growth of
Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra.

CHAPTER TWO
2.0

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1

TAXONOMY AND BOTANY OF BOUGAINVILLEA

Kingdom

Plantae

Division

Magnoliophylla

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Caryophyllales

Family

Nyctaginaceae

Genus

Bougainvillea

The plant was classified by Europeans in Brazil in 1768, by Philibert Commeron, a French
botanist. It is of the genus of flowering plants native to South America.
They are known for their lovely blossoms that bloom several times throughout the year. The
flowers come in an array of colours, from purple and pink to deep bright red. Plants belonging to
the genus Bougainvillea can reach a height from 1 to 12 meters. They are mostly evergreen
plants, but can be deciduous in dry areas. The leaves are about 4 to 12 cm long and can spread up
to 2 to 6 cm. The leaves are arranged alternately on the branches. The thorns of the plant are
usually found to contain a waxy substance, which is black in colour. The actual bougainvillea

flowers are very small. But, a cluster of three flowers remain surrounded by three to six thin and
coloured bracts. The colour of these bracts can vary from white, pink, yellow and magenta to
bright red, purple and orange. These colourful bracts are part of what make the bougainvillea
flowers more attractive and appealing. As the bracts are very thin just like paper, bougainvillea
flowers are sometimes referred as paper flowers.
Bougainvillea is a thorny, woody vine (Lawrence, 1989), scrambling over other plants with their
hooked thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance. They are evergreen where
rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple
ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and
generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts.
Bougainvilleas do well under intense sun, they love warm climates which is why in partial shade,
they will grow, but will not flower. Bougainvillea can also be put in pots. Because of their
special characteristics, like; high variation in type of foliage, production of many flowering
inflorescence on one plant and continuous blooming of flowers with short production cycle had
been very useful in the ornamental industry (Gordon, 2002).
2.2

FACTOR AFFECTING THE ROOTING OF STEM CUTINGS

Studies have shown that the ability of plants to form roots is influenced by physiological state of
the stock plant, propagating environment, and the treatment applied to the cuttings prior to
rooting. Plants respond to many environmental factors such as light, gravity, water, inorganic
nutrients, temperature, etc (Brown and Scott, 1984).

2.2.1 NUTRITIONAL FACTORS

Nutritional factor as for long been known to be of great importance in root formation.(Diak
1940), found that 30 different organic and inorganic form of Nitrogen increase the rooting
response of rhododendron cuttings.
Also, the fact that external supply of sucrose favours formation of roots in several difficult to
root plants shows the role of nutrition in rooting.
2.2.2 AGE OF STOCK PLANTS
Ability of cuttings to form adventitious roots is strongly affected by the age of plant cuttings.
Dewayne, 1986 observed that the physiological age of cuttings greatly affects their rooting
successes. Paton et al, 1970, discovered with an experiment on mango that root formation
decreases appreciably if cuttings are taken from 1 2 year old cuttings.
2.2.3 LIGHT
Light intensity and duration greatly affect plants. Light as a source of energy in life plays a vital
role in the rooting of cuttings. Gregory and Samantra, 1950 noted that the weight of root
produced on beam cuttings was nearly proportional to the amount of daily illumination.
2.2.4 HORMONAL FACTORS
Plant hormones are chemical messengers that affect a plant's ability to respond to its
environment. They interact with specific target tissues to cause physiological responses, such as
growth and development. Because hormones stimulate or inhibit plant growth (Aminah, 2003),
they are also referred to as plant growth regulators.

The purpose of treating cuttings with hormones is to increase the percentage rooting, root
initiation, number of roots and uniformity of rooting (AL-Barazi et al., 1982). It also accelerates
the translocation of nutrients form upper part of the cutting to their basal ends by increasing the
activities of enzymes. This increases hydrolysis of carbohydrate by providing enough energy in
rooting response of cells (Totokoyt, 1994)
Some major groups of hormones recognized are; auxins, gibberellins, ethylene, cytokinins, and
abscisic acid, brassinosteroids and jasmonic acid. All within a specific group of phytohormones
are further sub-divided according their chemical structures.
The main sources of growth hormones widely used in the promotion of rooting cuttings are the
indolic-3-butyric acid (IBA), 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and
commercialization of the root promoter such as ABT root powder. Indole acetic (IAA), produced
in the meristem of a tissue, is the most commonly occurring natural auxin and it causes plasticity
of the cell wall causing it to elongate. It is responsible for phototropism, geotropism, and apical
dominance.
The successful formation of adventitious roots is an obligatory phase of vegetative propagation
in many woody plants; this is related to the presence of auxin (McClelland et al., 1990; Kim et
al.,1998). Rooting of gardenia micro-cuttings has achieved high percentages in vitro with the use
of IBA (Pontikis, 1983).
Some of these derivatives often have the same biological activity as the free hormones, so their
concentrations must be taken into account for an accurate estimation of their effects. For
example, the optimum IBA concentration for rooting Triplochiton scleroxyton was found to be
0.4% (Leakey, 1983), and for rooting Milisia excelsa, it was 0.2%.

Moreover, several biological effects of phytohormones are induced by cooperation of more than
one phytohormone.
2.2.5 ROOTING MEDIA
The quality of rooting medium is essential in root development of plants (Bunt, 1998). Though
there is no universal rooting mix, appropriate propagation medium is dependent on; the cutting
types, season of propagation, cost and availability of medium component, etc. A good rooting
medium should hold the cuttings in place during rooting period, provide moisture, permit
exchange and provide appropriate light penetration.
Olosunde et al., 2008, stressed the importance of rooting media in root initiation and growth of
queen of the Phillipines (Mussaenda phillipica . A. rich).
2.2.6 TYPES OF CUTTINGS
The type of cuttings can be important for successful propagation. In a study using soft and hardwood stem tip cutting of Chauclaucium uncinatum showed that soft or semi-hard-wood stem
cutting resulted in >90% rooting, whereas hardwood were about 75% successful. In Pimelia
ferrunginea, 77 of 105 soft tip cuttings were rooted after 4 weeks and only 34 out of 104
hardwood had rooted in the same time.( Dawson et al., 1994).
2.3

PHYTOHORMONES

Phytohormones are group of naturally occurring organic compounds that play crucial roles in
regulating plant growth in a wide range of developmental process. The term phytohormone was
synonymous with auxin (Jeam et al.,2009). Other plant growth regulators such as gibberellins

(GAs), ethylene, cytokinins, and abscitic acid (ABA) are together with auxin classified as the
classic five hormones (Kende et al, 2008).
Phytohormones are increasingly employed to improve rooting and vegetative propagation of
plants and it helps in quick multiplication of such plants and increase roots availability (Swamy
et al, 2009).
2.4

COCONUT WATER AND ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Coconut belongs to the family of Palmea and genus, Cocos. Cocos nucifera L. has a liquid
endosperm popularly called coconut water which is used as a supplement in media for the
growth of plant tissue cultures (Asma et al, 2008). The coconut fruit is unique in that it contains
large amounts of this liquid over periods of a year or more in its life cycle.
The greatest amount of coconut water is found in young coconuts and provides nourishment for
the growth of the solid endosperm inside the hard shell of the fruit. When the fruit matures, both
the solid endosperm and the remaining coconut water serve as nutrients for the developing
embryo and seedling. Thus coconut water serves as a natural reservoir of nutrients to promote
tissue growth.
The nutritional composition of coconut water obtained from fruits at different stages of maturity
has been determined. The medium is rich in proteins, amino acids sugars, vitamins, minerals and
growth hormones essential to promote tissue growth (Gorge, 1993). Coconut water may also
play a significant role in the nutrition of plant and tissue cultures.

CHAPTER THREE
3.0

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1

Experimental site: The experiment was conducted at the horticultural nursery of the

University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state between the months of March and June, 2011.
3.2

Experimental materials: Materials used were; stem cuttings Bougainvillea, collected

from stock parent within Abeokuta. Sand, polythene bags and coconut water collected from
immature, green fruit were also used (Ge, et al., 2007).
3.3

Treatments combinations and Experimental design: The experiment was made of two

factors;
Factor A: Plant types: Bougainvillea glabra and B. spectabilis
Factor B: Dipping duration in coconut water at: quick dip (5mins and 10mins), medium
dip (1hr, 2hrs and 3hrs) and long dip (6hrs and 12hrs). There were 3 stem cuttings for each
treatment and was replicated three times to give a total of 144 units. The experimental design
used is Completely Randomized Design (CRD).
Treatment combinations
Bougainvillea species

Dipping duration

Bougainvillea spectabilis

5 minutes

Bougainvillea spectabilis

10 minutes

Bougainvillea spectabilis

1hour

Bougainvillea spectabilis

2 hours

Bougainvillea spectabilis

3 hours

Bougainvillea spectabilis

6 hours

Bougainvillea spectabilis

12 hours

Bougainvillea spectabilis

Control

Bougainvillea glabra

5 minutes

Bougainvillea glabra

10 minutes

Bougainvillea glabra

1 hour

Bougainvillea glabra

2 hours

Bougainvillea glabra

3 hours

Bougainvillea glabra

6 hours

Bougainvillea glabra

12 hours

Bougainvillea glabra

Control

3.4

Data collection: Data were collected on the following parameters;

Length of longest root (cm)
Number of days to sprouting
Number of leaves per cutting (by counting)
Percentage of rooted cuttings
Plant height (cm)

3.5

Data analysis: All parameters were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to

determine the level of significance of the treatments and Duncans multiple range test to separate
the means (Duncan, 1965).

Plate 1: Roots of some Bougainvillea plants

Plate 2: Bougainvillea plant at the experimental site

CHAPTER FOUR
4.0

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows the effects of dipping duration and plant species on rooting characteristics of
Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra. There was significant (P<0.05) effect of plant species
on days to sprouting, number of roots, root length and percentage rooted cuttings. Cuttings of
Bougainvillea spectabilis sprouted faster (17.04), with higher number of roots (2.94), longer
roots (4.55) and greater percentage of rooted cuttings (37.50) when compared to cuttings
obtained from Bougainvillea glabra which took longer period to sprout and did not root.
Similarly, it took cuttings dipped for 1 hour shorter time to sprout.
From the interaction table (Table 2) showing the effect of dipping duration on rooting
characteristics, it took cuttings of Bougainvillea spectabilis dipped in coconut water for 3 hours
the shortest period to sprout (22.00), closely followed by those dipped for 6 hours (21.33) and 2 hours
(21.33). Cuttings dipped for 1 hour had highest number of roots, root length and percentage rooted
cuttings (9.00, 17.10 and 100), respectively. Conversely, cuttings of B. spectabilis did not root al all.

Results on table 3 show the effects of dipping duration on leaves of Bougainvillea spectabilis
and B. glabra. B. spectabilis had higher number of leaves than B. glabra with B. spectabilis
performing better (7.42, 10.46 and 15.13) at 5, 7 and 9 WAP. There is also a significant effect
(P<0.05) of dipping duration on number of leaves, with cuttings dipped for 1 hour (13.17, 16.67,
25.67) being most significant when compared to others.
Interaction table (Table 4) on the effects of dipping duration on number of leaves shows a highly
significant difference (P<0.05) between B. spectabilis and b. glabra. Effects on B. spectabilis dipped for

1 hour (26.00, 36.67 and 50.00) was highly significant, followed by control (11.0, 16.0 and 24.00) and 3
hours dipping (5.33, 13.67 and18.00). On the contrary, there was no significant effect on B. glabra.

Effect of dipping duration in coconut water on plant height of bougainvillea spectabilis was
significant (Table 5). Cuttings dipped for 1 hour was the tallest (2.28, 8.17 and 8.43), followed
by 3 hours (1.35, 4.32, 4.70) and control (0.70, 3.73, 3.90) at 5, 7 and 9 WAP respectively.
Results on table 6 show the interaction effects of dipping duration on height of Bougainvillea
spectabilis and B. glabra. B. spectabilis. Height of B. spectabilis dipped for 1 hour performed
best (4.57, 16.33 and 16.87), followed by 3 hours (2.70, 8.63, 9.40) at 5, 7 and 9 WAP
respectively. However, there was no significant effect of dipping duration on the height of B.
glabra.

Table 1: Effect of dipping duration and plant species on rooting characteristics of

Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra.
Treatments

Days to
sprouting

Number of
Roots

Root length
(cm)

Rooted cuttings
(%)

Bougainvillea species
B. spectabilis

17.04

B. glabra

1.21

Dipping duration
Control

10.00

5mins

2.83

10mins

8.67

1hr

12.50

2hrs

10.67

3hrs

11.00

6hrs

10.67

12hrs

6.67

2.94
0.00

ab

3.33
0.00

ab

ab

ab

ab

ab

0.00
4.50
0.00
2.93
1.00
0.00

a
b

ab

bc

4.55
0.00
5.08
0.00
0.00
8.55
0.00
3.33
1.23
0.00

a
b

bc

cd

37.50
0.00
50.0
0.00
0.00
50.0
0.00

16.65

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at
(P<0.05)

33.35

0.00

Table 2: Interaction effect of dipping duration on rooting characteristics of Bougainvillea

spectabilis and B. glabra.
Treatments

Days to
sprouting

No of roots

Root length
(cm)

Rooted cuttings
(%)

Bougainvillea species Dipping duration

a

B. spectabilis

Control
5mins

20.00

6.67

bc

5.67

0.00
ab

10mins

17.33

1hr

15.33

2hrs

21.33

3hrs

22.00

6hrs

21.33

12hrs

13.33

Control

0.00

5mins

0.00

10mins

0.00

1hr

0.00

2hrs

0.00

3hrs

0.00

6hrs

0.00

12hrs

0.00

d
a

17.10
b

0.00
a

bc

ab

cd

0.00
d

0.00
b

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

33.3

0.00

0.00

66.7

2.47

0.00

0.00

6.67

2.00

100

0.00

5.87
a

0.00

0.00

0.00

9.00

100

0.00

0.00
ab

B. glabra

10.16

0.00
d

0.00

0.00

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at (P<
0.05)
WAP = Weeks after planting.

Table 3: Effect of dipping duration and species on leaves of Bougainvillea spectabilis and B.
glabra.
NUMBER OF LEAVES
Treatments
Bougainvillea species

5WAP

B. spectabilis

7.42

B. glabra

0.04

7WAP

10.46

0.08

9WAP

15.13
0.17

Dipping duration
b

Control

5.50

5mins

0.00

10mins

1.17

1hr

13.17

2hrs

0.67

3hrs

2.67

6hrs

4.17

12hrs

2.50

8.00

0.00

cd
a

cd
bcd

bc
bcd

2.67

b
d

6.83
5.00
1.67

0.00

bcd

16.67
1.33

12.00

cd
bc

bcd
cd

4.00

25.67
1.33
9.00
7.18
2.00

cd
bc

bcd
cd

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at (P<
0.05)
WAP = Weeks after planting.

Table 4: Interaction effect of dipping duration on number of leaves of Bougainvillea

spectabilis and B. glabra.
NUMBER OF LEAVES
5WAP

Treatments

Bougainvillea species Dipping duration

B.spectabilis
Control

7WKS

11.0

16.0
d

5mins

0.00

10mins

2.33

1hr

26.00

2hrs

1.33

3hrs

5.33

6hrs

8.33

12hrs

5.00

Control

0.00

5mins

0.00

10mins

0.00

1hr

0.00

2hrs

0.00

3hrs

0.00

6hrs
12hrs

0.00

9WAP

24.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
cd

5.33

cde

8.00

32.67

50.00

2.67

2.67

cd

13.67
bc

bc

18.00
bc

10.00
cd

bcd

14.33

cd

3.33

de

4.00

B. glabra
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00
d

0.00

0.00

0.00
d

0.00

0.00

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at (P<
0.05)
WAP = Weeks after planting.

Table 5: Effect of dipping duration and plant species on height of Bougainvillea spectabilis
and B. glabra.
PLANT HEIGHT
Treatments
Bougainvillea species

5WAP

B. spectabilis

1.20

B. glabra

0.00

7WAP

9WAP

4.65
b

4.95
b

0.00

0.00

Dipping duration
bc

Control

0.70

5mins

0.00

10mins

0.00

1hr

2.28

2hrs

0.00

3hrs

1.35

6hrs

0.37

12hrs

0.10

bc

3.73
c

bc

3.90
c

0.00
c

0.00
bc

0.30
a

8.17
c

bc

0.43
8.43a

0.03
ab

0.07
ab

4.32
bc

ab

4.70
bc

1.67
bc

bc

1.85
bc

0.40

bc

0.43

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at (P<
0.05)
WAP = Weeks after planting.

Table 6: Interaction effects of dipping duration on height of Bougainvillea spectabilis and B.

glabra.

Treatments
B. spectabilis Dipping duration
Control

PLANT HEIGHT
5WAP
bc

1.40
0.00

10mins

0.00

1hr

4.57

2hrs

0.00

3hrs

2.70

6hrs

0.73

7.80
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.60

0.87

16.33
c

16.87

0.07
b

0.13
b

8.63
c

9.40
bc

3.33
c

0.20

9WAP

7.47
c

5mins

12hours

7WAP

bc

3.70
c

0.80

0.87

B. glabra
c

Control

0.00

5mins

0.00

10mins

0.00

1hr

0.00

2hrs

0.00

3hrs

0.00

6hrs
12hrs

0.00
0.00c

0.00
0.00c

0.00
0.00c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00
c

0.00

0.00

Means followed by the same subscript in the same column are not significantly different at (P<
0.05)
WAP = Weeks after planting.

CHAPTER FIVE
5.0

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1

CONCLUSION

Rooting characteristics of cuttings of Bougainvillea spectabilis was enhanced when dipped in

coconut water for 1 hour, while B. glabra had no roots across all dipping durations.
5.2

RECOMMENDATION

Dipping stem cuttings of Bougainvillea spectabilis in coconut water for 1 hour could be used to
stimulate root initiation and development. Further studies are necessary to confirm this
recommendation.

REFERENCES
Aldrich J.H. and J.G. Norcini. (1994). Copper hydroxide-treated pots improve the root system of
bougainvillea cuttings. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 107: 215-217.
Asma, N., A. Kashif and K. Saifullah. (2008). In vitro propagation of croton (Codiaeum
variegatum). Pak. J. Bot., 40(1): 99-104.
Asma, N., A. kashif and K. Saifullah. (2007). An optimized and improved method for the in vitro
propagation of kiwifruit (actinidia deliciosa) using coconut water. Pak. J. Bot., 40(6):
2355-2360.
Cline S, Luc N, Thierry B, Hlne C, Marie-Pierre J, Marlne D, Gran S, Michel Z, Catherine
B (2006). Proteomic Analysis of Different Mutant Genotypes of Arabidopsis Led to the
Identification of 11 Proteins Correlating with Adventitious Root Development. Plant
Physiol. 140: 349-364.
Dawson, I.A. and King, R.W. (1994). Propagation of some woody Australian plants from
cuttings. Australian journal of Experimental Agriculture, 34, 1225-31.
De Klerk GJ, Van Der Krieken WM, De Jong JC (1999). The formation of adventitious roots;
new concepts, new possibilities. In Vitro Cell Dev. Biol. 35: 189-199.
Deshmukh, S.D. and M.N. Borle. (1975). Studies on the insecticidal properties of indigenous
plant products. Ind. J. Ent., 37(1):11-18.
Duncan, B.D., (1965). A Bayelsian approach to multiple comparison tecnometrics. 17-227

Ge, L.; Peh, C.Y.C.; Young, J.W.H.; Tan, S.N.; Hua, L.; Ong, E.S. Analyses of gibberellins by
capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry combined with solid-phase extraction. J.
Chromatogr. A (2007), 1159, 242-249.
George, E.F. and P.D. Sherrington. (1993). Plant Propagation by Tissue Culture. Exegetics Ltd.,
Press, pp. 709.
Jean W.H. Young, Liya Ge, Yan Fei Ng; Swee Ngin Tan, (2009). The chemical Composition
and Biological properties of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water. Molecules, 14: 51445163.
Kende, H.; Zeevaart. J. The five Classical plant hormones. Plant Cell . (1997). 9, 1197-1210.
Kim MS, Klopfenstein NB, Cregg BM (1998). In vitro and ex vitro rooting of micropropagated
shoots using three green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) clones. New For. 16: 43-57.
Kupchan, S.M., I. Uchida, A.R. Branfman, R.C. Dailey and B.Y. Fei. (1976). Antileukemic
principles isolated from euphorbiaceae plants. Sci., 191:571-572.
Leakey, R.R.B and R. Storeton-West. (1992). Stockplant illumination, photosynthesis and the
rooting ability ofTriplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum. cuttings: the effect of irradiance,
light quality and their interaction with nutrients. For. Ecol. Manage. 49:133-150.
Ma, Z.; Ge, L.; Lee, A.S.Y.; Young, J.W.H.; Tan, S.N.; Ong, E.S. (2008)Simultaneous analysis
of different classes of phytohormones in coconut water (Cocos nucifera L.) water using
high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass
spectometry after solid-phase extraction, Anal. Chim. Acta. 610, 274-281.

McClelland MT, Smith MAL, Carothers ZB (1990). The effects of in vitro and ex vitro root
initiation on subsequent microcutting root quality in three woody plants. Plant Cell
Tissue Org. Cult. (Historical Archive) 23: 115-123.
Olosunde, O.M; Olasantan, F.O., and Olubode, O.O. (2008). Effect of growth media on rooting
of Queen of the Philipine (Mussaenda phillipica A. Rich). Nigerian journal of
Horticultural Science. 13: 68-74.
Pontikis CA (1983). In vitro propagation of Gardenia jasminoides. Plant Propagator. 29: 13-14.
Swamy, K.N. Seeta SRR. (2009). Effects of Brassinosteroids on rooting and early vegetative
growth of Coleus [Plectranthus forskohlii (Willd) Briq.] stem cuttings. Indian journal of
natural product resources. 1: pp. 68-73.
Wu, Y.; Hu, B. (2009) Simultaneous determination of several phytohormones in natural coconut
juice by hollow fibre-based liquid-liquid-liquid micro-extraction-high performance liquid
chromatography, J. Chromatogr. A. 1216, 7657-7663.