Ranjana Shrestha¹ , Puspa Kumari Mandal¹ , Samjhana Karki¹ , Manisha Chaudhary¹ , Sushma Neupane¹ , Reshma Dhakal¹ , Sunny Kumar Shah²

1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Girija Prasad Koirala College of Agriculture and Research Center (GPCAR), Purbanchal University, Gothgaun, Morang, 56600, Nepal
2 Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Girija Prasad Koirala College of Agriculture and Research Center (GPCAR), Purbanchal University, Gothgaun, Morang, 56600, Nepal
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 6   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0028
Received: 07 Jul., 2025    Accepted: 15 Oct., 2025    Published: 27 Nov., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Shrestha R., Mandal P.K., Karki S., Chardhary M., Neupane S., Dhakal R., and Shah S.K., 2025, Optimizing root and shoot development in dragon fruit using plant growth hormones under polyhouse conditions at NARC Tarahara, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 15(6): 279-289 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0028)

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) is gaining popularity in Nepal’s subtropical regions due to its high nutritional value and increasing market demand. However, its expansion is hindered by poor rooting efficiency and the absence of standardized propagation techniques, particularly regarding the use of growth hormones in cuttings. To address this limitation, a study was conducted from March to June 2024 to assess the influence of different plant growth hormones on rooting and vegetative growth of red-skinned, white-fleshed dragon fruit cuttings. The experiment followed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with six treatments: IBA 7,500 PPM, IBA 6,500 PPM, NAA 200 PPM, NAA 400 PPM, IBA 400 PPM + NAA 200 PPM, and a control, each replicated four times. Cuttings were established in polybags filled with a 1:1:1 mixture of sand, soil, and farmyard manure. Data were collected at 30, 60, and 90 days after planting on shoot and root emergence, number and length of shoots and roots, and shoot/root diameter. Results showed that the combination of IBA 400 + NAA 200 PPM was the most effective treatment, producing the earliest root emergence (23.25 days), the longest shoots (30.07 cm), the thickest shoots (20.7 mm), the longest roots (18.82 cm), and a competitive root diameter (1.66 mm). IBA 7,500 PPM also performed strongly, especially in root traits, with the highest root number (20.22) and maximum root diameter (1.78 mm), while IBA 6,500 PPM showed moderate effects. In contrast, the control consistently recorded the poorest performance across all traits, confirming the critical role of growth hormones in enhancing dragon fruit propagation.

Growth hormones; Dragon fruit; Rooting; Cutting; Vegetative propagation