Root sucker technique for successful clonal multiplication of Melia dubia Cav. without sacrifice of mother tree

Melia dubia Cav. is an important indigenous, shortrotation, multipurpose tree, advocated as a good raw material for pulp and plywood industries and highqua lity timber for various purposes. Multiplication and conservation of its selected superior genotypes are prime challenges in commercial forestry. The present study was conducted to analyse root sucker ability. Roots sections collected during November-December and treated with indole-3-butyric acid @ 4000 ppm in nursery beds having soil : sand : vermicompost (in the ratio of 2 : 1 : 1) started juvenile shoots emergence after 30-35 days, with 90% shoot emergence and 85% establishment. No shoot emergence was observed from the root section collected during February-March. The clonal bank established in this process attained a diameter of 5-8 cm (10-12 cm above ground) in one year. The study shows that the ex situ detached root sucker protocol route can be adopted for cloning M. dubia without sacrificing the superior genotypes.