Response of Rooting Atributes of Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) Stem Cuttings to Natural Rooting Stimulators

Response of rooting attributes of peppermint ( Mentha piperita L.) stem cuttings to natural rooting stimulators Vanajah Thuraisingham 1 * , Thayamini H. Seran 2 1 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka 2  Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka *thayaminis@esn.ac.lk , thayaseran@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Mentha piperita L is a hybrid plant derived from the crossing of Mentha aquatic and Mentha spicata . The plant is not able  to reproduce seeds. The present study was aimed to determine the most suitable liquid medium for better rooting and survival. Healthy immature stem cuttings of peppermint with two pairs of leaf were placed in 5% vermiwash, 5% honey, 5% coconut water and pure water. The results revealed that there was a significant difference (P<0.01) in rooting percentage of stem cuttings among the tested treatments. The stem cuttings of peppermint plant dipped in 5% vermiwash showed remarkably higher rooting percentage and lower rooting percentage was observed in pure water after 72 hours. Further, experiment was done to optimize the concentration of vermiwash liquid medium for better rooting and survival of peppermint stem cuttings Healthy stem cuttings were placed in liquid media of different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of vermiwash. The result indicated that the stem cuttings dipped in 10% vermiwash had higher rooting percentage (98%) and growth of shoots within a week of period. Furthermore, an experiment was done to determine the rooting of stem cuttings on sand medium by applying the different concentrations (0%, 3%, 4%, 5%) of vermiwash instead of watering. R esults recorded the growth performance of peppermint stem cuttings ie; number of suckers, shoot length, root length, fresh shoot and root weight were increased gradually with increase in vermiwash concentration from 3% to 5%. The vermiwash has a significant effect on rooting of peppermint cuttings.  Key words: Coconut water, honey, peppermint, stem cutting, vermiwash [*] Corresponding author: e-mail