EFFECTS OF SUBSTRATE AND CORM SIZE ON SHOOT REGENARATION, GROWTH AND BIOMASS YIELD OF MACRO-PROPAGATED ENSET (Ensete ventricosum

Abstract

Enset is drought tolerant crop and is known as enemy of hunger as it is food security subsistence for more than 20 million Ethiopians. However, the crop coverage as well as production and productivity are declining from time to time due to various problems, among which lack of enough, high quality planting material is worth mentioning. This resulted from lack of improved propagation technologies including use of appropriate growth substrates and corm sizes. Therefore, a shade house investigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of substrate and corm size on the sucker production of macropropagated enset clone. The treatments consisted of three substrates (forest soil, sawdust and FYM) and three corm sizes (whole corm, halved corm and quartered corm) laid out in a 3×3 factorial arrangement in completely randomized design with three replications. Data on days to first bud regeneration, growth, biomass and photosynthetic efficiency were collected and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The interaction of substrate and corm size has influenced height and girth of pseudostem, shoot fresh and dry weight. The result also revealed that volumetric water content, number and length root, root fresh and dry weight, maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and performance index (PIABS) were affected only by the main effect of substrate. Moreover, Days to first bud regeneration, number of shoots, shoot height, leaf number and total leaf area were affected by main effects of substrate and corm size. The earliest bud regeneration was observed in FYM and halved corm. And maximum number of shoot was recorded from FYM and quartered corm. The number and length of roots, Fv/Fm, PIABS, shoot height,