Enhancement of Propagation Using Organic Materials and Growth Hormone: A Study on the Effectiveness of Growth and Rooting of Pomegranate Cuttings

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

It has important significance for pomegranate industry using organic materials rather than chemicals to enhancing pomegranate propagation.  I have read the manuscript with great interest, however, there are some comments the authors should be concerned:

1.       Growing a pomegranate tree from cuttings requires a hardwood cutting taken at an appropriate time. The cuttings sampling time should be described in detail.

2.       2.5 Statistical Analysis. In this section, some measured root parameters including root diameter, total root length from L141-L145 should be included in 2.4.

3.       Figure 1 showed the cumulative sprouting percentage at the whole stages.  However, it should be stated how the data was obtained in Materials and Methods.

4.       The significance level P should be in italic style P.

5.       L165-L169, why the No. of shoot per cutting is percentage significant compared to the control? Table 2 showed that there were no significant differences for No. of shoot per cutting among treatments including garlic, banana, aloe vera, and control. These obscurity cause by data was also in other parameters, such as the number of acrobasal roots, the total root length, etc.  

6.       L200-L202, from Table 3, it can be seen that the data of longest root length were sequentially by IBA, Aloe vera, Panchagavya treatments, but not as what the authors analyzed that Aloe vera treatment displayed the longest root length.

7.       When the data obtained from various measured parameters were compared to found whether there were significantly different among treatments, it should be clearly stated. For example, L205-L207, ‘the number of acrobasal roots also varied significantly among treatments”. In fact, there were no significant differences among Aloe vera, Panchagavya, and IBA treatment, and among control, garlic, and banana. Please carefully check the significance of difference in the whole manuscript.

8.       The method used by the correlation analysis should be included in ‘2.5 Statistical Analysis’.

9.       The Discussion section was not strong, It should include a concise summary of the problem you are investigating and a critical discussion of major and minor findings in the context of published literature.

10.    The format specifications of the Journal should be followed.

(1) The text size and typeface should be consistent in Table 1,Table 2, and Table 3;

(2) Heading rows in Table 3 should be repeated for cross-page form;

(3) L279, the cited reference Adida et al. 2022 should be numerically cited;

L281, aloe vera 19 or aloe vera [19]？

          (4) The listed references should be in a uniform format in order to meet the criterion of the Journal. The Latin name in the title should be italic. Reference 3, 10, 17,18, 20, 22 should be carefully checked.

Comments for author File: Comments.docx

The English is fine.

Author Response

Kindly find the reply to reviewer #1 in the attached file. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

These studies are the first in the field of using organic materials such as aloe vera, panchagavya, garlic and banana for rooting pomegranate cuttings. The effectiveness of which is compared with a synthetic phytohormone with indolyl-3-butyric acid.

However, there are a number of comments to the authors of this article.

Firstly, the research was conducted for only 1 year. And it is not advisable to publish one-year research results. It is necessary to conduct at least 2 years of research. As a result, the conclusions will be more reliable.

Secondly, specify the shelf life of cuttings at a temperature of 5-6 °C and what equipment was used for storage. With what discreteness the cuttings were watered during the experiment.

In general, the research is of both scientific and practical interest and should be continued.

Author Response

Kindly find the reply to #reviewer 2 in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Reviewer response to author:

Abstract:

Overall, the abstract is a well-written and well-conducted study that provides valuable insights into the use of different rooting promoters for pomegranate cuttings. The authors could have included more information about the quality of the cuttings used in the study. This would help to ensure that the results are not confounded by the quality of the cuttings.

Introduction:

The introduction builds a clear foundation for the research and highlights the lack of formal procedures for propagation and the limited use of rooting compounds.

Material and method

1.      Overall, the section effectively outlines the experimental procedure, but a bit more elaboration on certain aspects could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the methods used in the study. The explanation of using one-year-old dormant branches for cuttings is appropriate, but it might be helpful to briefly mention the source of these branches (e.g., mature pomegranate trees?  to provide a complete picture.

2.      The description of how cuttings were handled upon arrival and their subsequent preparation is clear. However, it might be beneficial to explain the rationale for specific dimensions (length, diameter), as these might impact rooting success.

3.      The description of wounding treatment is clear, but adding a brief note on the purpose of this treatment, such as how it promotes root initiation, could provide more insight.

4.      It would be valuable to provide more information about the sandy clay loam soil and the plastic bags used for planting the cuttings. Details like soil composition and bag specifications could enhance the reader's understanding/interest.

5.      The mention of meticulous weeding and hand-watering is relevant. Providing information about the watering schedule and weeding frequency could offer a more comprehensive view of experimental care.

Results

The results section presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of various organic materials and IBA on the vegetative and root growth of Bedana pomegranate cuttings. The data is well-organized and effectively communicates the findings of the study. Here are some specific comments that I would make

1.      The correlation matrix analysis is a useful way to visualize the relationships between different variables. However, it would be helpful to provide a more detailed interpretation of the results. For example, the authors could discuss the strength and direction of the relationships between each pair of variables.

2.      The authors could also discuss the implications of their findings for the practical application of organic materials and IBA for propagating pomegranate cuttings. For example, they could discuss the optimal concentrations of these materials and the best time to apply them.

3.      What is the mechanism by which organic materials and IBA promote the sprouting and rooting of pomegranate cuttings?

4.      How do the different organic materials and IBA affect the quality of the resulting plants?

5.      Can the results of this study be generalized to other types of cuttings?

6.      What are the economic implications of using these organic materials and IBA for propagating pomegranate cuttings?

7.      Does the study not provide information on the long-term effects of the organic materials on the growth and development of pomegranate, for example, fruit yield or quality?

 

Discussion:

The discussions are well-organized and easy to follow. The authors have presented their findings and discussed their implications. The discussions are comprehensive and address all of the important results of the study. The authors have also discussed the limitations of their study and suggested future research directions. This is a good practice and helps to strengthen the overall contribution of the paper. The authors could also discuss the optimal concentrations of organic materials and IBA for promoting the rooting of pomegranate cuttings. This would be useful information for growers who want to use these materials.

 

1.      The authors could discuss the mechanisms by which organic materials and IBA promote the sprouting and rooting of pomegranate cuttings. This would help to understand the underlying basis for their findings.

2.      The authors could also conduct a longer study to see if the effects of organic materials and IBA on the rooting of pomegranate cuttings persist over time. This would provide more information about the sustainability of these methods/procedures.

References:

 

The references are properly formatted in terms of citation style. The authors have done a good job of citing relevant literature to support their claims. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

English is ok need minor polishing.

Author Response

Kindly find the attached file for the reply to reviewer 3 comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The revised manuscript is more clearly and well organized.

1. the significance value P is still uncorrected.

2. The list reference 3, 6, 10,17,18,19, 20, 22 still need modified carefully based on the criteria of the Journal. Especially, reference 18 lost the journal name and should be added.

Author Response

Kindly find the replies to the comments in the attached file. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Undoubtedly, the conducted research is of both scientific and practical interest. The comments made by the reviewer were taken into account by the authors and the necessary amendments were made. Therefore, this article is recommended for publication.

Author Response

We highly appreciate reviewer 2's nice recommendation for the publication.