Studies on the Propagation of Jamaican Ackee (Blighia sapida L.) by Air-layering

A study was conducted at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, in June, 2011.  The aim was to investigate the effects of Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA) on the air-layering propagation of Jamaican ackee (Blighia sapida L.) using four different plants of the same genotype. Blighia sapida L. is a woody perennial, evergreen multipurpose fruit tree species native to the Guinean forests of West Africa. The fleshy arils of the ripened fruits are edible.  All selected plants were fully grown mature, vigorous, healthy, and disease-free trees, located within the landscape at Cave Hill Campus. Individual trees represented separate blocks. The experiment was laid out as a randomized-block design, with five different concentrations of the rooting hormone (0, 2000, 2500, 3000, and 3500 ppm) IBA. The maximum rooting percentage (100), maximum number of roots (108.00), longest root length (29.1 cm), maximum root fresh weight (11.9 g), and dry weight  (3.7 g) per stem were recorded in the treatment of 3500 ppm  IBA. The results of this study have some potential for multiplication of true-to-type plants and can be beneficial for fruit growers and nurserymen.