2024, Vol. 7, Issue 8, Part I

author(s)
PV Sindhu, Lekshmi Sekhar, E Nezam Ali, PR Arya, C Beena and P Sindhumole

abstract
Pseudarthria viscida (L.) Wight & Arn., commonly known as sticky desmodium, is a perennial under shrub widely used in Ayurveda. There is no standardized clonal propagation method through stem cuttings; hence, it is necessary to fulfill the demand for Pseudarthria viscida in the indigenous system of medicine. To standardize clonal propagation in Pseudarthria viscida and to assess clones' growth characteristics, an experiment was undertaken at AICRP on Medicinal Aromatic Plants and Betelvine, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala, India during 2021-2022. Stem cuttings from the stem's top, middle, and bottom portions and the primary branches from the main stem of Pseudarthria viscida were taken for the study. The clonal progenies were compared with seedling progenies. The experiments were laid out in a completely randomized design. The results revealed that stem cuttings from the lower portion of the main stem (T1) had 70% sprouting at 30 DAP and registered the highest sprouting percentage among the treatments. However, it was statistically comparable to T2 and T4 with 65 and 55 percent, respectively, followed by T3 (35%). The tallest plants were observed in stem cuttings from the lower portion of the main stem, measured 98.8 cm and T4, T3 and T2 correspondingly recorded 80.5, 75 and 76.5 cm at 90 DAP, and were statistically on par with T1 (40.8 cm). At 45 and 90 DAP, primary branches from the main stem (T4) with 2.2 and 4 branches per plant recorded the highest number. At 90 DAP, stem cuttings from the upper portion of the main stem (T3) recorded the maximum number of leaves per plant (34.8) at 90 DAP and were statistically comparable with all other treatments. From the findings of this study, we can strongly recommend stem cuttings from the basal position of the main stem for commercial cultivation of Pseudarthria viscida.