Abstract
Experiments were conducted to elucidate the effects of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 10-200 ppm and environmental parameters on the regeneration of stem cuttings of ramie (Boehmeria nivea Gaud.). IBA induced early differentiation of adventitious roots, increased the number of roots and their length, enhanced fresh weight and dry matter. This bio-regulant accelerated the sprouting of buds, increased the length of shoot, the number of leaves and their area. Air temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature at 5 cm depth, rainfall and bright sunshine hours were optimum for regeneration of the stem cuttings during the monsoon season (July and August). IBA pretreatment brought about maximum regeneration and induced the best morphological characters in both root and shoot in the monsoon season at 100 ppm concentration. However, the calculated optimum dose of IBA treatment is 125 ppm, which may be exploited for the commercial plantation of ramie through stem cuttings.
