VOL. 7, NO. 3, MARCH 2012 ISSN 1990-6145 ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science © 2006-2012 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved. www.arpnjournals.com 193 THE EFFECT OF BAP AND THE LEVEL OF AGING STEM ON THE GROWTH OF PINEAPPLE (Ananas comosus (L) Merr) STEM CUTTING Fitriana Nasution and Sri Hadiati Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute, Jl. Raya Solok Aripan, West Sumatera, Indonesia E-Mail: emon_delpiero@yahoo.com ABSTRACT A research was conducted to find out the effect of BAP and the level of aging stem on the growth of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L) Merr.) stem cutting from March to June 2009, at Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute (ITFRI), Solok, West Sumatera. The experiment was arranged in factorial randomized block design with 5 replications. Two treatments applied were BAP (0; 100; 300; 500 ppm) and the level of aging stem (young stem; old stem). The Pieces of the stems was soaked into BAP solution in accordance with the treatment for 3 minutes and then dried. Based on the results of observation, it was found that all treatments have not significantly effect to all parameters. From the observation, it is also known that every stem cutting has the ability to produce shoots. Probably cutting requires longer time soaking BAP (> 3 minutes). Keywords: pineapple, cutting, BAP, stem. INTRODUCTION Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is one of the essential commodities of tropical fruit. Pineapple belongs to the Bromiliaceae family, from which one of its most important health-promoting compounds, the enzyme bromelain, was named. Pineapple has contributed 8% of the world fresh fruit production, and Indonesia is the third largest country which produces processed pineapple and fresh pineapple after Thailand and the Philippines (FAOSTAT, 2002). Pineapple can be propagated vegetatively and generatively. Plant materials for vegetative propagation can be in the form of shoot, slip, crown, stem, and leaves cutting. For species that can be propagated easily by cuttings, this method has numerous advantages. Many new plants can be started in a limited space from a few stock plants. It is inexpensive, rapid, and simple, and does not require the special techniques necessary in grafting, budding, or micropropagation. There is no problem of incompatibility with rootstocks or of poor graft unions. Greater uniformity is obtained by absence of the variation which sometimes appears as a result of the variable seedling rootstocks of grafted plants. The parent plant is usually reproduced exactly, with no genetic change (Hartman et al., 1990). It is easier to perform than invitro tissue culture, and after out-planting into the nursery, tissue culture plantlets need higher levels of subsequent care (i.e., photoperiod and temperature maintenance, subculturing) than plants derived from stem cuttings (Soni, 2010). Many mutans can be obtained from such tissue cultures (Wakasa et al., 1798). Growth regulators are man-made phytohormones. Some have the same chemical structure as natural phytohormones, whereas others are closely related chemically to those natural substances. As with the phytohormones, they are placed in one of two groups: (1) compounds which promote plant development and (2) compounds which retard or inhibit growth and development (Edmont et al., 1987). Various classes of growth regulators, such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, and ethylene, as well as inhibitors, such as abscisic acid and phenolics, influence root initiation (Hartman et al., 1990). Therefore, the research was coducted to find out the effect of BAP and the level of aging stem on the growth of pineapple stem cuttings. MATERIALS AND METHODS The research was conducted from March to June 2009, at Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute (ITFRI), Solok, west Sumatera. The experiment was arranged in factorial randomized block design with 5 replications. Two treatments applied were BAP (0; 100; 300; 500 ppm) and the level of aging stem (young stem; old stem). The stem was harvested. It was cleaned from leaves and roots which covered them. Furthermore, the stem was cut on crosswise and each piece was cut into two parts. The Pieces of the stems was soaked into BAP solution in accordance with the treatment for 3 minutes and then dried. For the level of aging stem which included categories of young stem was the color of stem still creamy and the stem was not covered by roots. The categories of old stem were dark brown color stem and the stem was covered by roots. Stem cuttings were planted with the position of the back facing up in the seedbed containing medium sand, then covered with 1 cm thick sand media. Spacing of each cuttings was about 5 cm. The sand used was river sand that has been cleared of stones. Observation was conducted at 3 months after treatment on time of shoots emergence, shoots percentage, number of shoots, number of leaves, and shoots height. Collected data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (Anova) followed by 5% HSD test.