Title: Evaluation of waste secondary cellulose acetate in growth medium for eucalyptus clonal nursery production

Authors: Roby Mathew; Tarur Konikkaledom Dinesh; Sreejith Valiavalappil; Demlapura S. Gurumurthy; G.V.S. Saiprasad

Addresses: Life Sciences and Technology Centre, ITC Limited, ITC, #3. Ist Main, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru – 560058, India ' Life Sciences and Technology Centre, ITC Limited, ITC, #3. Ist Main, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru – 560058, India ' Life Sciences and Technology Centre, ITC Limited, ITC, #3. Ist Main, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru – 560058, India ' Life Sciences and Technology Centre, ITC Limited, ITC, #3. Ist Main, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru – 560058, India ' Life Sciences and Technology Centre, ITC Limited, ITC, #3. Ist Main, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru – 560058, India

Abstract: Nursery growers employ various techniques to promote the high-quality root system in saplings to ensure successful plantations. Experiments were carried out to determine the effect of using waste secondary cellulose acetate (SCA) in production of rooted plants of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and it was compared with plant produced with commercial growth medium comprising vermiculite. The experiment involved using three different sources of waste SCA to replace 20% of vermiculite in the rooting medium mixture. The bulk density of SCA-based rooting medium ranged between 0.07-0.1 gcm^-3 with high water holding capacity. The rooting medium containing SCA did not exhibit any phyto-toxicity on germination of different types of seeds evaluated. The rate of germination was found to be faster in the rooting medium containing SCA and this medium was able to produce 96 % rooting in E. camaldulensis and 100% rooting in Casurina junghuhniana. Plants grown in the rooting medium containing SCA exhibited higher fresh weight (43%), shoot length (22%), root length (4%), and root biomass (10%) compared to those grown in traditional rooting medium.

Keywords: secondary cellulose acetate; cigarette butts; nursery; eucalyptus clones; rooting medium; growth of plants.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAITG.2026.153484

International Journal of Agriculture Innovation, Technology and Globalisation, 2026 Vol.5 No.2, pp.136 - 152

Received: 05 Nov 2024
Accepted: 30 Jun 2025
Published online: 11 May 2026 *

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