Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree known for its nutritious and medicinal value. Its global demand is high due to rich antioxidant content, health benefits, and culinary versatility. However, the expansion of pomegranate cultivation face challenges due to the need for efficient propagation techniques that can produce high-quality plant material to meet commercial and agricultural demands. The propagation of pomegranate using cuttings is considered an easy and cost-effective method. Hardwood and softwood cuttings were treated with 3000 mg/ L indole-3-butyric acid (Hormodin® 2) and stuck in a rooting medium consisting of perlite and peat moss (4:1, v:v). Hardwood cuttings of 21 pomegranate cultivars, including ‘Al-Sirin-Nar’, ‘Angel Red’, ‘Apseronski’, ‘Arturo Ivey’, ‘Ben Ivey’, ‘Carolina Vernum’, ‘Chiva’, ‘DeAnda’, ‘Early Wonderful’, ‘Kandahar’, ‘Kazake’, ‘Kunduzski’, ‘Larry Ceballos І’, ‘ML’, ‘Mollar’, ‘Purple Heart’, ‘Russian 8’, ‘Salavatski’, ‘Spanish Sweet’, ‘Surh-Anor’ and ‘Wonderful’ were propagated in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2023. In addition, softwood cuttings of 23 cultivars, which included ‘Al-Sirin-Nar’, ‘Ambrosia’, ‘Apseronski’, ‘Ariana’, ‘Azadi’, ‘Cranberry’, ‘Desertnyi’, ‘Eversweet’, ‘Golden Globe’, ‘Green Globe’, ‘Haku Batan’, ‘Loffani’, ‘Medovji Vahsha’, ‘Molla Nepes’, ‘Palermo’, ‘Parfianka’, ‘Phoenicia’, ‘Purple Heart’, ‘Salavatski’, ‘Sirenevyi’, ‘Surh-Anor’, ‘Vkusnyi’, and ‘Wonderful’ were propagated in 2022. The rooting percentage of hardwood cuttings was higher in ‘AL-Sirin-Nar’, ‘Salavatski’ and ‘Surh-Anor’, whereas ‘DeAnda’ and ‘Early Wonderful’ showed lower rates compared with other cultivars based on cluster analysis. For softwood cuttings, the rooting percentage did not display significant differences across cultivars, however, the number of roots were significantly higher in ‘Cranberry’, ‘Eversweet’, ‘Surh-Anor’ and ‘Wonderful’ compared with ‘Ambrosia’ and ‘Golden Globe’. Further research is needed to identify the most effective propagation technique for pomegranate production.
