RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 121, NO. 5, 10 SEPTEMBER 2021 691 *For correspondence. (e-mail: ishratnazir12345@gmail.com) 35. Dilek, Y. and Newcomb, S. (eds), Ophiolite concept and its evolu- tion. In Ophiolite Concept and the Evolution of Geological Thought, Geological Society of America, Special Papers, Boulder, Colorado, 2003, no. 373, pp. 1–16. 36. De Bari, S. M. and Coleman, R. G., Examination of the deep levels of an island arc: evidence from the Tonisia ultramafic– mafic assemblage, Tonisia, Alaska. J. Geophys. Res., 1989, 94, 73–91. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. R.N. thanks the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for financial support (Fast Track Young Scientist, grant no. SR/FTP/ES-60/2014). We thank Mr Durgesh and Dr Shusanta Sarangi (Department of Applied Geology, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad) for help in EPM analyses; and Dr Sakthi Saravanan Chinna- samy (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, NIT, Rourkela) for laboratory facilities. We are also thankful to Prof. Krishna Kishore Osuri (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, NIT, Rourkela) for language editing. Prof. Chalapathi Rao for editorial handling and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions that helped improve the manuscript. Received 2 March 2021; revised accepted 6 July 2021 doi: 10.18520/cs/v121/i5/685-691 Vegetative propagation of Ulmus villosa Brandis and Ulmus wallichiana Planchon: optimizing plant growth regulators and growing media on root formation in hardwood stem cuttings Ishrat Nazir 1, *, Vaishnu Dutt 1 , Anup Raj 1 , G. M. Bhat 1 , Bilal Ahmad Bhat 2 and Akhlaq Amin Wani 1 1 Faculty of Forestry, and 2 Faculty of Fisheries, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar, Srinagar 190 025, India Ulmus villosa and Ulmus wallichiana are agroforestry tree species of the Kashmir valley, India. Low viability and less longevity of the seeds limit their propagation. The hardwood stem cuttings of both species were propagated in growing medium (soil, sand and a mix- ture of cocopeat : vermiculite : perlite) and treated with different indole-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations. The results showed maximum sprouting, rooting, sur- vival, shoot length, root length, and leaf area at 2500 and 2000 ppm IBA for U. villosa and U. wallichiana respectively. Moreover, with cocopeat : vermiculite : perlite 2 : 1 : 1, significant results were observed in both the species. The interaction between planting media and IBA concentration showed significant variance. Keywords: Growing media, indole-butyric acid, stem cuttings, Ulmus villosa, Ulmus wallichiana, vegetation propagation. ELMS are common worldwide, generally distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, subtropics of Central America and Southeast Asia 1 . A total of 35 species are distributed throughout the world, but only 5 are reported in the Indian subcontinent, viz. Ulmus walli- chiana, Ulmus villosa, Ulmus pumila, Ulmus chumlia and Ulmus lanceifolia. Two species, namely U. wallichiana and U. villosa have been reported from the Kashmir valley, India, but show low regeneration in the forests due to rare seed availability 2 . Ulmus villosa Brandis is a deciduous tree popularly called marinoo in India 3 . The tree shows scattered distri- bution in Northwestern Himalayas and grows up to 20– 30 m in height at an altitude ranging from 1200 to 2500 m amsl (ref. 4). It is considered an important agro- forestry tree species, but irrespective of its multi-purpose advantages meagre research thrust has been given on the quantitative or qualitative development and mass produc- tion of the species 5 . Ulmus wallichiana Planchon, famous as Kashmiri elm, Bhutan elm or Himalayan elm, is found at elevations ranging from 800 to 3000 m amsl, distributed from Nuri- stan in Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and India to west- ern Nepal. The species is widely distributed in Kashmir, especially found in Dachigam, Tangmarg, Babareshi, Pahalgam, Chandanwari and Verinag 3 . The Himalayan elm can reach up to a height of 30 m with distinct greyish-brown trunk furrowed longitudinally, broad crown region and branches grow in ascending fashion 3 . Naturally the elm tree shows sexual mode of propagation through seeds, but the seeds of U. wallichiana are either empty or exhibit less longevity, which results in low availability for afforestation. Like U. villosa, U. walli- chiana is source of fuel, timber and is reported to have the potential to prevent and treat osteoporosis 6 . In order to overcome the propagation barrier through seed multiplication, vegetative propagation has been a thrust area in the recent past. Vegetative propagation through stem cuttings can be used to select superior varieties of U. villosa and U. wallichiana for planting. One of the critical aspects for propagation by stem cut- tings is the root development process which is influenced by the plant growth regulators, especially by the root- stimulating agents. They play a crucial role in root deve- lopment in difficult-to-root plants, improving rooting percentage in cuttings and decreasing rooting time 7 . The choice of rooting medium is one of the most impor- tant factors for achieving optimum rooting in the shortest time. It is important to choose the correct rooting medium to get optimum rooting in the shortest time. Peat moss is the most commonly used peat in horticulture 8 . It is reported that peat moss improves the physical characteristics of the soil, such as porosity and water-holding capacity 9 . The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of growth regulators and growing media on the rooting of U. villosa and U. wallichiana hardwood stem cuttings.