Evaluation of bulblet production capacity of vegetative cuttings of Lilium oriental hybrid cv.  Star Gazer'

In this research, possibility of bulblet production from different cuttings including leaf, leaf-bud and leafy-stem of Lilium oriental hybrid cv. ‘Star Gazer’ evaluated under different levels of Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) with 0, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg per liter (ppm). The cuttings were taken from stems which grown from cold treated bulbs in early October. A factorial experiment was done in Department of Horticulture Sciences, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran in 2014-2015, based on Randomized complete blocks design with three replications and nine cuttings per replicate. The results showed that rooting percentage and leaf number decreased on leaf cuttings by increasing auxin concentration, while these traits increased on leaf-bud and leafy stem cuttings. In contrast to the results in the rooting and leaf number traits, number of bulblets rose in leaf cuttings from 14 in control to 21, in leaf-bud cuttings from three to 20 and in leafy stem cuttings from one to 16 in IBA levels of 250, 500 and 750 ppm, respectively. Exceeding IBA concentration had reverse effect on bulblet number, correspondingly. Even so, leaf number and rooting percentage declined on leaf cuttings by application of IBA, but it was useful for production of more bulblets on leaf, leaf-bud and leafy-stem cuttings in IBA levels of 250, 500 and 750 ppm, respectively.