Standardization of single eye cutting in patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)

An experiment was conducted to standardize single eye cutting in patchouli (Pogostemon cablin Besets) to reduce the use of young shoots for rooted cutting production as the shoots with five internodes are used for extraction of oil. Different leaf positions were selected for assessing the cutting success, i.e. juvenile leaf (T₁-second node from shoot tip), immature leaf (T₂-third leaf), mature leaf (T₃-fourth leaf) and fully matured leaf (fifth leaf). Among four leaf types used, fourth nodal leaf (T₃) from the shoot tip had highest root and shoot growth. The root initiation started 14 days after insertion in T₃, whereas it was delayed and started 18 days after planting in T₁. Number of days taken for shoot initiation was also least (14.50 days) in T₃. Shoot emergence was delayed up to 6 days in T₁ compared to T₃. The fresh and dry weight of roots and shoot, and photosynthetic rate of single eye cutting were highest in T₃ (fourth nodal leaf). Maximum survival of plantlet was recorded in T₃ 45 days after planting. In conclusion, single eye from fourth and third nodal leaf from the shoot tip are recommended for successful vegetative propagation of patchouli using this technique.