Study on Vegetative Propagation of Camellia japonica L. (Tea Rose)
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Date
2013
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Camellia japonica (the Japanese Camellia) is one of the best known species of the genus
Camellia and this genus is comprising more than 200 species, includes evergreen shrubs and
trees belonging to the Theaceae family, which are grown mainly for the preparation of tea with
the leaves and buds, for the seeds in order to obtain oil, and as ornamental plants. Among the
Camellia species, the economic value of the C japonica ranks the highest due to its beautiful
ornamental flowers. C. japonica is highly spread in up country regions of Sri Lanka such as
Nuwara Eliya and Hakgala. It is highly propagated vegetatively using stem cuttings. When
vegetative propagation is being done, the nursery is the first and one of critical points in
propagation. Nursery soil is highly affected for the vigorous growth of any plant. It affects for
the rooting efficiency, presence of pests and diseases, nutrient availability, etc. Therefore, this
study was aimed to identify the most effective propagation type and soil medium for two
selected C. japonica varieties in the nursery.
Methodology
Two varieties of C. japonica which bloom white and pink color flowers were selected for the
experiment. They were collected from the Hakgala Botanical Gardens and the experiment site
was a land at Uva Wellassa University premises. In the experiment, four soil media, two
propagation types were used. Foursoil media were, only top soil (control/M 0), Top soil and
rooting hormone (M1),Top soil, coir dust (1:1) and rooting hormone (M2), Top soil (top layer),
tea waste (bottom layer) (1:1) without mixing and rooting hormone ( M ).
The number of roots and root length were measured in each cutting after85 days from
planting.The average weighted root quantity (AWRQ) was calculated and analyzed by using
three factor factorial CRD design (Minitab 16 version).
Description
Keywords
Agriculture, Export Agriculture, Tea Industrials, Tea Technology, Crop Production