INFLUENCE OF ROOTING MEDIA, NUMBER OF NODES AND SEEDLING GROWING METHODS ON ROOTING, SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY GROWTH OF CHAYA (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius McVaugh) STEM CUTTINGS AT DIRE

Establishment of seedling growing method(s) is priority activity to the distribution of newly introduced vegetable crops. Chaya is proposed as candidate vegetable crop to distribute in eastern Ethiopia. However, recommendation is lacking for rooting media and type of cutting to produce seedlings. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess effect of rooting media and number of nodes on rooting, seedling establishment and early growth of chaya at Dire Dawa from February 2018 to July 2018. Three level of rooting media (top soil only, 3:2:1 top soil: FYM: sand, 3:1 top soil: FYM), three levels of node number (2, 3, 4) and two seedling growing methods (seedbed/bare root and polyethylene bag) in factorial combinations were evaluated in completely randomized (CRD) and randomized complete block designs (RCBD) with three replications for nursery and field experiments, respectively. Seedling growing methods significantly influenced all traits, rooting media (RM), number of nodes (NoN) and interaction of the main factors (RM x NoN x SGM) had significant effect on percentage of root initiated cuttings, while NoN, RM x SGM interaction and the three main factors (RM x NoN x SGM) interactions had significant effect on number of days to initiate regrowth and numbers of days to first leaf visible. Rooting media and number of nodes on number of roots, interaction of RM x SGM on regrowth stem height while NoN, RM x SGM and NoN x SGM interactions on number of leaves had significant effects. Fresh and dry weight of leaves and roots, dry weight of leaves and root significantly influenced by RM and RM x SGM interaction. Interaction of NoN x SGM had significant effect on relative growth rate, shoot to root dry weight ratio, fresh and dry weight of root. In addition, number of nodes on cutting had significant effect on relative growth rate. The significantly higher percentage of root initiated cuttings (86.67%) was observed in cutting with four nodes grown on seedbed, while significantly shortest days of 7.83, 8.0 was required to initiate regrowth and 17.52, 17.58, 18.12 required to produce visible leaf respectively, observed in plots filled with 3:2:1 top soil: FYM: sand grown in polyethylene bag. Only number of roots not significantly influenced by one or two of the possible three main factors interactions. Similarly, the seedlings raised on seedbed filled with 3:1 top soil: FYM (91.6%) and stem cuttings with four nodes (92.7%) showed high percentage survival. Generally, either one or more of the three main factors rooting media, number of nodes and seedling growing method or one or more of the possible two and three main factors interactions significantly influenced the seedlings growth and establishment of seedlings at the field. In conclusion, chaya seedlings from cutting responded well to type of rooting media containing top soil: FYM: sand, cutting length with three and four nodes and growing method (seedbed). Therefore, in the study area it could be advised to use combined mixtures of 3:2:1 top soil: FYM: sand and stem cutting with four nodes grown on nursery bed and field establishment